Different stakeholders want to know different things from assessment. Learners want to
know how their skills and competencies relate to other learners, or to the demands of the
formal accreditation system. They want to know that they are making progress, and that
they are ready to transition to their next-steps destinations.
Service providers want to know how to place new learners in the appropriate program or at the appropriate levels. They need to know if learners are progressing and achieving their goals. They need to know when learners are ready to transition to their next steps.
Funders want assurance that programs are effective in helping learners achieve their goals. They also want to know that program funding is well spent.
Given the government’s needs for greater accountability to its stakeholders and given that stakeholders’ needs are often in competition with one another, an examination of accountability systems in other jurisdictions was conducted to learn about different models and their impact on literacy programs.
Accountability to stakeholders has been linked to the notion of sustainability. If programs can provide evidence that students are learning, it improves their chances for sustainability. McKenna and Fitzpatrick (2004) point out that a significant impact of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was a shift in the way literacy was broadly perceived. IALS results for highly industrialized countries revealed large numbers of adults performing at low literacy levels. This meant that literacy could no longer be viewed as an issue for developing countries only. Instead, literacy began to be attributed with the capacity to build highly skilled, knowledge-based economies and was increasingly viewed in an economic context.
Most of these countries (Australia, Canada, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, United States and United Kingdom) have aging populations and are facing skill shortages in emerging areas of their economies. Employment in rural, mining and manufacturing industries is in decline, while employment in the service and information technology sectors is rising. All have adopted lifelong learning policies focusing on human capital development in order to address future labour market needs (p. 9).
While the focus on lifelong learning is viewed by most as a step in the right direction, the concept of “human capital” seems to be problematic for many literacy researchers and educators. The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines human capital as “productive wealth embodied in labour, skills and knowledge” (OECD website). From a human capitalist perspective, literacy education is viewed primarily as a