Progress indicators

Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) Curriculum Framework for Scotland

Part Two: Practice

3.6 Progress indicators

One of the main purposes of review and formative assessment is to let learners and tutors know how learning is progressing towards meeting the goals identified at the beginning of the programme. Sometimes learners feel they are getting stuck and it is reassuring - and motivating - for them to be able to look back over past review meetings to see that they have actually moved on from their starting point. In order to do this there needs to be some way of recording the outcome of each discussion and of the assessment, whatever form it takes. The ALNIS report recommends that the ILP, owned by the learner, is where progress should be recorded.

The Core Skills Framework defines broad levels of progression in communication and numeracy against national standards and the National Units derived from it are useful for those who want formal accreditation of their progress. It is not sufficiently fine-grained, though, to be used for identifying the small steps in progress which are important and meaningful to many ALN learners. This could be done by using a method of recording - a framework of progress indicators - that notes not only any new skills and knowledge but the resultant changes in learners’ lives. Such a framework could show how learners are increasingly able to apply their new knowledge and skills independently in a range of contexts and transfer them confidently to new situations.

Many tutors and learners may already have identified the particular factors they look at in discussing how learning is going and may have worked out their own method of noting them. The areas they discuss probably include:

the growth in skills, knowledge and understanding
how easily new skills and knowledge can be applied without reference to the tutor
how well they can be transferred to new situations in real life outside "the classroom".

The matrix Read with Understanding contained in Appendix 5 represents an example of a first attempt at developing a framework for recording progress. It focuses on skills, knowledge and understanding in the area of reading with understanding. In using such a matrix with learners it is important to remember that skills, knowledge and understanding would not be assessed in isolation but only in a context which is relevant to the learners’ needs and goals. Some learners have a "spiky" profile, so you may need to look at more than one level to record their learning. It could be a useful tool in helping to identify gaps in a learner’s knowledge, for example, someone who reads fairly well may want to practise skimming text in preparation for college. When wanting to record smaller steps in progress, it would be possible to sub-divide each level by looking at the gradual increase in proficiency in carrying out tasks. To help do this, a range of progress indicators could be developed which reflected the increasing ease or fluency, consistency and independence with which each task is carried out and the ability of learners to transfer their new skills and knowledge to a range of new situations.

Although the underlying purpose of such a framework of progress indicators is not formal certification, it would facilitate this type of progression for those learners who have identified certification as one of their learning goals.

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