Colleagues,

The discussion on formative assessment is getting lively now. That's  
great.  Keep posting your questions and comments to any of the  
researchers or other discussion participants. Meanwhile, today we  
will also look at the case studies in the U.S. I would like John  
Comings (from the U.S.) and John Benseman (from New Zealand) to talk  
about what they found in the background research and the case studies  
in the U.S.

As we plunge into a discussion about the U.S. case studies, I hope  
you will take a look at them at:
http://www.oecd.org/document/ 
18/0,3343,en_2649_35845581_39972050_1_1_1_1,00.html
If this long link doesn't work for you, cut and paste it into your  
browser, or just try the short form of the web address:
http://tinyurl.com/2d3wyk

I have asked John Benseman and John Comings if they could:

1. give a short overview of the national adult literacy education  
context in the U.S. -- for our international subscribers, but also  
for those in the U.S.  -- particularly noting any features or terms  
of the context that are important to understand the case studies;

2. describe the case studies; and

3. describe what are the most interesting, significant findings and  
also explain how the case studies might be good examples of formative  
assessment.

I would be particularly interested in hearing observations from both  
researchers on what appears to be different and similar in formative  
assessment practices in the U.S. as compared with other countries.  
What can we in the U.S. learn about practice and policy from what is  
happening in New Zealand or the U.K., for example. Are there good  
practices that U.S. states teachers, one-on-one tutors, or programs   
should consider?

Tomorrow I would like to explore two areas with all the discussion  
participants: 1) formative assessment practices in other countries we  
haven't yet touched on -- for example Scotland, Germany, Canada, or  
other countries, and 2) policies that support and hinder formative  
assessment.

David J. Rosen
Special Topics discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net