KEY COMPONENTS FOR AN EFFECTIVE EVALUATION PLAN FOR LEARNER-CENTRED ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMS

An effective evaluation plan for learner-centred adult literacy programs should include procedures and tools for:

• conducting an initial assessment of the learner.
• determining learner goals.
• determining criteria for good work.
• collecting on-going information about learner progress and instructional effectiveness.
• tracking and documenting progress.

Furthermore, if the philosophy of learner-centred adult education is to be honoured, then the prime considerations in selecting these tools and procedures should be how effective they are at engaging the learner in the particular process, and how effective they are at fostering a collaborative relationship between instructor and learner.

In developing an effective evaluation plan, it is useful to break the evaluation process into three major parts and then consider the key components of each part.

The three parts are:

1. The initial assessment
2. Goal setting
3. On-going information gathering and recording

Each of these parts and their key components will be discussed in a separate section in the following pages. The appendices contain samples of tools and procedures that can be used to collect appropriate information for each part of the assessment and evaluation process.