The essential skills framework was used by workplace educators who work with many different populations. For example, one respondent works "in a sheltered workshop for clients with special challenges." One of the tools she developed uses essential skills related to the retail store. The assessment results are used to "customize the training program to the right skill level of the participants."

A practitioner with a master's degree and over ten years of experience in adult literacy provided the description of an initial assessment. This practitioner works in a community-based program in the inner city.

When I interview potential students at the Centre, I use the Centre's registration form as an assessment tool. The form definitely has meaning for students and is used in context. It provides me with enough information to place the student in a group or with a tutor-more specific needs can be addressed later when the student is more at ease. I usually invite the student into my office, where I invite them to sit and have a look at the registration form while I continue with a task in my office. I am busy with a task so the student does not feel they are being watched (although I am aware of their actions); almost all of the students will complete as much of the form as they can while they wait. After an appropriate length of time, I turn my full attention to them, and we go over the form together. Blanks, spelling, questions asked-these allow an entry assessment (not exact to be sure) without the stress of using an 'assessment tool. ' It's not rocket science, but it works!

This description encapsulates why many practitioners choose to use authentic assessment over a commercial tool. Students speak with their feet; if the initial assessment creates stress and anxiety, they might not return to the program. This practitioner, like many others, is concerned with all aspects of a student's well-being; this includes his/her emotional state and not just the cognitive results from an assessment.

A total of 267 (67 percent) respondents reported that authentic assessments are part of the initial assessment battery. Of the 267 respondents, 125 stated that tools developed by instructors were the most frequently used tools for initial assessment. The 125 respondents described the strengths and limitations of these tools.