Measuring progress

If programs are to move beyond the traditional schooling model of literacy education, they will need to measure and show progress in a different way. This may also be advantageous to programs in order to demonstrate the impacts of literacy education. When literacy skills are used as the primary measure of progress, very little progress is shown (Beder, 1999; Smith & Sheehan–Holt, 1999, Brooks, Davies, Duckett, Hutchison, Kendall, & Wilkin, 2000). But when progress is measured according to personal development factors such as increased confidence, self–esteem, and new self–perception (Beder, 1999; Bingman, Ebert & Smith, 1999; Ebert and Bingham, 2000) there is evidence of progress.

…impact is situational. Assessment of learner progress in many literacy programs focuses on students' technical skills (e.g., decoding, word recognition) as if those technical skills were applied the same way in all circumstances. However, we found that technical skills are applied differently depending upon the situation and the person. We also found that literacy is not only in situations, but literacy has an impact on the situation, as well. When an adult who has not used literacy in a situation does so for the first time, the situation—and the social relationships within the situation—change (Fingeret & Drennon, 1997, p. 12)

In order to demonstrate the complex personal progress made by students, measures that permit them to display more than skills will have to be used. In the example of the coffee shop, progress is measured in a variety of ways, including student self–assessment, task and skill achievement, independent mastery of an activity, informal peer feedback, instructor feedback, movement from newcomer to oldtimer, transition to a job placement, completion of a placement, and finding a job. The program has also developed a variety of evaluation tools (such as checklists, performance reviews, self–assessments, and progress reports) that are used to provide written evidence of progress. These tools are then collected in a student folder or portfolio that is used to demonstrate progress. The question that remains, is this enough evidence for program funders?