Benchmarks are points of reference that serve as a basis for evaluation or comparison. The need for Literacy Benchmarks has been identified by learners, practitioners, Advanced Education and Employment (formerly Saskatchewan Learning), and the Saskatchewan Literacy Network. The Circle of Learning Levels 1 and 2 Literacy Benchmarks Footnote 1 1 have been developed by taking into consideration the identified needs of adult learners and practitioners Footnote 2 2; the objectives and values of various stakeholders; and the national, international, and Aboriginal resources currently available on literacy benchmarks.
The Saskatchewan Literacy Network and Advanced Education and Employment, with funding support from the National Literacy Secretariat, have been working in partnership to develop Saskatchewan Adult Literacy Benchmarks Levels 1 and 2. The Benchmarks project began in February 2003 with the recruitment of a 12-member Project Advisory Committee. In addition to adult learners and literacy practitioners who serve in public institutions and community-based organizations, the committee included administrators and policymakers. Its members are representative of First Nations and Métis, and other individuals who live and work in rural, urban, and northern communities.
The Benchmarks content has also been greatly influenced by a research review of national, international, and Aboriginal literacy benchmarks. Of particular note is the literacy standards work done by the Northwest Territories Education, Culture and Employment (2000), the Skill Plan of British Columbia (BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council, n.d.), Literacy Ontario (1998), the Literacy Stages of Manitoba Education, Training and Youth (2002a, 2002b, 2002c), the Essential Skills database of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (2005), the Employability Skills 2000+ of the Conference Board of Canada (2006) the Certificates in General Education for Adults of Australia (ARIS, Language Australia, 2001), and the Equipped for the Future Content Standards of the National Institute for Literacy of the United States (Stein, 2000). All of the Levels 1 and 2 Benchmarks have benefited from the visioning and curriculum work done by the Adult Basic Education Redesign Task Team (Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training, 2002). As well, this project received invaluable input from the Project Management Team and Project Advisory Committee, and a special subcommittee of Life Skills content experts. With gratitude, The Circle of Learning model also incorporates the wisdom and traditional teachings of the Medicine Wheel, as shared by First Nations and Métis Elders and advisers.
Return to note 1 For purposes of brevity and ease of reading, this document refers elsewhere to the Circle of Learning Levels 1 and 2 Literacy Benchmarks as Circle of Learning Benchmarks, Levels 1 and 2 Benchmarks, Literacy Benchmarks, and Benchmarks.
Return to note 2 In this document, the term practitioner is all-inclusive. It refers to everyone who is involved in adult literacy program delivery, whether paid or volunteer: instructors, co-ordinators, program planners, office support workers, etc. The term learner refers to adult literacy students, regardless of the type of educational program they attend: formal/non-formal, group/ individual, etc