Brief Background of the Project
During the winter of 2007, Le CAP undertook a research and development project as part of the Learner Skill Attainment Framework initiative. Le CAP’s project consisted of evaluating two valid, reliable assessment instruments used to measure the Essential Skills of the adult Francophone learner enrolled in the L'alphabétisation et la Formation de Base (AFB) program with the goal of employment. Within that particular project framework, Le CAP was specifically interested in a clientele with the goal of re-entering the workforce through integrated training, that is, training incorporating both a professional and a credit component with both supported by a parallel AFB component. These programs operate under the name Très Grande Vitesse (TGV), a reference to the speed at which the TGV train travels in a straight line to reach its destination. In that context, MTCU asked Le CAP to field-test the assessment instruments, TOWES and PDQ, with TGV clientele. One of the major objectives of this study was to examine the relevance of the instruments to the AFB clientele (generally less literate and less educated) already involved in integrated training. Le CAP’s project targeted between 40 and 50 learners in Prescott County from four TGV training programs.
The Essential Skills Assessment Instruments and the Level of their Cultural Adaptation to Francophone AFB Programs
The two assessment instruments that were field-tested were developed in specific cultural contexts. TOWES was developed in a college environment in Alberta (Bow Valley College) and translated into French by another college in Ontario (La Cité Collégiale). PDQ, on the other hand, was developed by an American company (Educational Testing Services) specializing in developing educational tests, and translated into French by HRSDC. Considering that the two instruments were developed outside the Ontario Literacy and Basic Skills network (both LBS and AFB) and outside the Franco-Ontarian educational system, we were concerned about their adaptability to a very specific context – that of less literate learners of a Franco-Ontarian minority.
Issues Arising from Structural Adaptation to a Training Culture
We must mention first that the purpose of TOWES and PDQ is somewhat diagnostic. In that sense, they allow for a diagnosis of Essential Skills at a particular given time. That being said, they were not developed to assess Essential Skill attainment in a training context with learners actually undergoing training. This is probably why neither system offers test follow-ups since these are generally used to measure gain or progress following a learning period offered as part of a training program. From this observation, some questions arise concerning the ability of the two instruments to adapt to the cultural and training context of the TGV clientele.