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The Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Web site is an activity, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, to support states in developing and using content standards to improve the quality of adult education programs. The Web site is organized into three sections:
Find Standards—Downloadable files of adult education content standards from states and national organizations in the areas of English language acquisition, reading, and mathematics. Also includes About the Standards, separate files that provide an overview of each set of standards.
A Process Guide for Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards—Information and materials that guide adult education programs through the process of planning, developing, aligning, reviewing, and implementing standards. Readers will find an array of practical suggestions, samples, tools, and references for implementing standards-based education.
Field Resources—National and international standards not included on the Find Standards page, as well as professional development materials that were originally created to provide technical assistance to the State Adult Education Standards Consortia, 2004-2005.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
- Q1: Why was the Adult Education Content
Standards Warehouse Web site developed?
- Q2. How are adult education content
standards identified for inclusion in this Web site?
- Q3. After selecting and opening a
standards document in Find Standards, can I select and open a second
document and keep the first document open?
- Q4: Disclaimers in the content
standards documents note that these documents are excerpts from original
files. Where can I find the full documents?
- Q5: What are the About the
Standards files?
- Q6. How can I print or save content
standards documents or About the Standards files?
- Q7: What are the origins of the
frameworks and definitions located in Field Resources?
Q1: Why was the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Web site developed?
A1: The Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Web site was developed to provide a new resource for state adult literacy professionals to tap into for help in developing and implementing adult education content and literacy standards. It is one element of a National Leadership Activity funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. The project, operated by the American Institutes of Research, was funded in 2003 to help states build capacity to develop and implement adult education content standards for English language acquisition, mathematics, and reading. In addition to the warehouse Web site, the project supported:
- Collaborative working groups of 14 states that received technical assistance from field experts, shared resources, and worked together through national meetings teleconferences, and an online electronic forum; and
- Production of A Process Guide for Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards, a print publication that outlines processes for moving toward fully implemented standards-based education.
Q2: How are adult education content standards identified for inclusion in this Web site?
A2: States and national organizations that are interested in sharing their adult education content standards in English language acquisition, mathematics, and reading should contact Ronna Spacone at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education for more information. States and organizations grant permission to the U.S. Department of Education to include their standards on the warehouse Web site. All adult education content standards in the three subject areas are welcome.
Q3: After selecting and opening a standards document in Find Standards, can I select and open a second document and keep the first document open?
A3: No, you must select, open, view, print, or save each set of standards separately.
Q4: Disclaimers in the content standards documents note that these documents are excerpts from the original files. Where can I find the full documents?
A4: The About the Standards files contain links to state or organization Web sites where the full documents reside. Follow those links to find the full content standards documents.
Q5: What are the About the Standards files?
A5: About the Standards are overviews that describe important features of each content standards document, such as how the standards are organized and how they correspond with the National Reporting System's educational functioning level descriptors.
Q6: How can I print or save content standards documents or About the Standards files?
A6: When you select the HTML version of content standards documents or About the Standards, the document will open in a new window. Position your cursor over the window and right-click. A pop-up menu will appear that includes a Print function. Or, copy and paste the text into a word processing file to save it or insert it in another document.
Q7: What are the origins of the frameworks and definitions located in Field Resources?
A7: They were developed as part of the original design of the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse in 2004. The frameworks were developed as devices to enable comparisons between different sets of standards for a given subject area (English language acquisition, reading, and mathematics). The definitions correspond to the primary elements of the frameworks, which were developed through a review of research literature and existing state, national, and international standards in English language acquisition, mathematics, and reading. Research from a K-12 perspective and adult education was consulted. The literature included:
- Teachers of English as a Second Language (TESOL; 1997). ESL standards for Pre-K-12 students: Online edition. Available from http://www.tesol.org.
- Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed.). (2001). Teaching English as a Second Language. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
- National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM; 1991). Professional standards for teaching mathematics. Reston, VA: NCTM. Available from http://www.nctm.org.
- National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Available from http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org.
- National Council of Teachers of English & International Reading Association (NCTE-IRA; 1996). Standards for the English language arts. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Available from http://www.reading.org and http://www.ncte.org.
- Kruidenier, J. (2002). Research-based principles for adult basic education reading instruction. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation. Available from http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/html/adult_ed/adult_ed_1.html.
The frameworks in Field Resources intend to be broad enough to cover the full range of knowledge and skills in each content area; however, the frameworks are not intended to be the only perspectives on the content areas. Similarly, the related terms and definitions are not the only definitions; rather, they present a consensus of expert opinion based on current research and practice. Reviewers included U.S. Department of Education staff, an advisory group, and adult education and content area experts. Also, although each set of skills and knowledge is presented in a linear order, it does not imply an order of teaching and learning within the content area.
Contact the staff at the U.S. Department of Education to learn about the process for adding content standards to the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Web site.
Ronna Spacone
Education Program
Specialist
Division of Adult Education and Literacy
Office of Vocational
and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue,
SW
Washington, DC 20202-7100
Phone: (202) 245-7755
Fax: (202)
245-7838
Find email addresses for U.S. Department of Education staff by using the employee record locator.
American Institutes for Research (AIR)
Contact the staff at AIR with all other questions about the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Web site.
Dahlia Shaewitz
Senior Research Analyst
American
Institutes for Research
c/o Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse
1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202)
403-6840
Fax: (202) 403-5001
E-mail: aecsw@air.org
Janelle Sands
Research Associate
American
Institutes for Research
c/o Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse
1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202) 403-5852
Fax: (202) 403-5001
E-mail: aecsw@air.org