CONSABE Second Synthesis of Draft Content Standards for Adult Basic Education

Equipped For the Future (EFF) Three Life Roles
1.0 Parent/Family Member 2.0 Citizen 3.0 Worker
Domain Specific Knowledge & Skill Domain Specific Knowledge & Skill Domain Specific Knowledge & Skill

1.1 Parenting Activities

1.2 Caregiving

1.3 Health

1.4 Community Resources

1.5 Housing & Transportation

1.6 Behavioral Management

2.1 Consumer Economics

2.2 Citizenship Activities & Voting

2.3 Civic Participation

2.4 Community Resources

2.5 Law

2.6 Behavioral Management

3.1 Labor Market Information

3.2 Workplace Culture

3.3 Education/Training

3.4 Needs & Opportunities

3.5 Job Finding & Holding

3.6 Behavioral Management
4.0 Generative Knowledge Across Life Roles and Four Purposes

4.1 Facts, Concepts, Procedures, Rules & Principles of Basic Physical, Social & Life Sciences; World & U. S. History & Geography; U. S. Government at Federal, State, & Local Levels Literary Thought; Art and Mathematics

4.2 Language: Functional Knowledge of 15,000
Vocabulary Words & Their Derivatives
5.0 Generative Skills for Independent Action, Decision Making and Lifelong Learning

5.1 Thinking About Goals; Managing and Monitoring Learning

5.2 Scientific Reasoning: Empirical & Conceptual Evidence vs Personal Experience, Beliefs & Faith

5.3 Thinking: Analogical Reasoning: A is to B as C is to D
Logical Reasoning: Assume Premises & Deduce Conclusions
Analysis & Synthesis: Classification, Structural, Temporal
6.0 Generative Skills for Accessing & Voicing Information

6.1 Computeracy: Keyboarding; Word Processing; Internet

6.2 Numeracy: Comprehension, Computation, & Communication

6.3 Literacy: Reading & Writing Comprehension & Production

6.4 Oracy: Listening & Speaking Comprehension & Production

6.5 Social & Interpersonal Interacting & Cooperation

How Is the CONSABE Project Working to Develop Draft Content Standards for ABE?

Over 350 adults have been involved in a multi-pronged approach that includes: grassroots participation by adult students, business leaders, teachers in ABE, administrators, and other stakeholders. These community members have participated in focus groups, adult students have participated in writing contests, surveys of citizens have been completed, and a review of related projects that have developed content standards for ABE has been completed.

What Do the First Draft Content Standards Look Like?

The first draft of the new content standards are shown in the accompanying figure. The draft standards include content for three Life Roles: Parent/Family Member; Citizen; and Worker.There are also three cross-cutting content areas that are made-up of generative skills for accessing and voicing information (area 6.0), generative skills for taking independent action, decision making, & lifelong learning (area 5.0), and generative knowledge that cuts across the three life roles.

What Happened Next?

The CONSABE project contributed to the Equipped for the Future (EFF) initiative of the National Institute for Literacy. EFF went on to develop content standards and initiated projects to implement a variety of activities to reform adult basic education programs to make them more relevant, meaningful, and useful to adult students and to make them more accountable to the public at large.

A project of the San Diego Consortium for Workforce Education and Lifelong Learning (CWELL)

Reference: Sticht, T., Erickson, P., & Armstrong, W. (1996). Voices from the community. CONSABE: Content standards for adult basic education: Moving toward draft standards. Final Report. Washington, D.C: National Institute for Literacy. (available from http://www.searchERIC.org )