West Community College Inc
After a rigorous trial of the National Reporting System, HELP teachers
at Central West Community College concluded that this framework
for assessing literacy and numeracy skills was not appropriate for
assessing and reporting on progress made by participants in HELP
programs. Though a valuable tool for teachers, it was too complex
for the kind of activities that characterise HELP programs.
Central West Community College offers adult and community education
programs, employment services and community based vocational education
and training programs in centres throughout central western NSW.
College teachers are involved in a number of HELP programs.
As a Registered Training Organisation, the College was interested
in providing graduates of HELP programs with a portable and meaningful
record of achievement, for example, a statement of achievement that
identified their literacy and numeracy skill levels within a national
framework. Staff believed this would help identify further study
options and facilitate articulation arrangements.
The aim of the Strategic Pilot Project was to investigate the feasibility
of incorporating the National Reporting System (NRS) into the initial
and ongoing assessment of participants in non-accredited HELP courses.
The NRS is a generic set of reference points for measuring language,
literacy and numeracy against five levels of competence. It provides
a consistent framework for reporting the outcomes of adult English
language, literacy and numeracy provision in the vocational education
and training system, labour market programs and in the adult and
community education sector.
The 12 Central West Community College HELP teachers involved in
the Strategic Pilot Project were all experienced in developing assessment
tasks and strategies, moderating assessments and using assessment
resources. They were familiar with the NRS but had had no opportunity
to apply it in a practical context. To address this gap, a short
professional development program was offered at the beginning of
In moderation sessions, teachers shared information on successful
strategies and techniques and then tried them with students on an
informal basis. They looked at how to gather examples of behaviours
and competencies that could be used to describe gains made in social
skills and personal development. They also examined the feasibilility
of using the NRS to report on progress made by the whole group,
rather than by each individual.
Student responses were discussed during the moderation sessions
to determine whether the response indicated competent or not yet
competent. This approach led to a consistent understanding by all
teachers of the requirements and standards expected from each of
the assessment tasks.
Teachers created folders of common moderated assessment tasks that
were NRS specific for each centre in the College. These can easily
be tailored to individual and classroom programs without losing
their reliability as a testing tool. These folders support the assessment
tasks and have information about the assessment activity, expected
performance, conditions and learning context as well as NRS indicators,
levels and aspects. An assessment task cover sheet provides a quick
guide to choosing an assessment task that matches the level and
learning outcomes a teacher has been working towards.
After trialing key aspects of the NRS with HELP students, the teachers
concluded that the NRS reporting formats were inappropriate in this
environment. Students do not understand the NRS codes and find a
plain English progress report far more useful. Furthermore, HELP
courses are generally too short to demonstrate movement from one
NRS level to another, and the indicators are too large for the type
of competencies developed in HELP programs.
The NRS is a common language for teachers and literacy practitioners,
but less so for other community and government agency staff involved
in HELP programs. Comprehensive professional development training
would, therefore, be required across TAFE and Centrelink staff before
the system could provide the portability envisaged during the initial
phase of the Strategic Pilot Project. Teachers felt that rigorous
application of the NRS would result in the program becoming assessment
driven and ultimately, less effective for the target group.
The Strategic Pilot Project provided sound professional development
for the teachers. They are now more aware of literacy and numeracy
developmental needs and have training materials on assessment and
the NRS. The project also allowed the College to fast track the
introduction of accredited curriculum for HELP programs.
Research during the project showed that the type of activities usually
undertaken in HELP programs can easily be located within the framework
of accredited general education, communications and office technology
modules. Therefore, if individual candidates want to be assessed,
nationally recognised credentials could be issued.
Teachers had a forum in which to discuss assessment issues. They
were encouraged to grapple with challenging ideas and new concepts,
resulting in a more informed approach to assessing participants
in HELP programs. Other personnel in the College were a great resource
during the project and contributed to the enthusiastic involvement
believe their approach to the research and feasibility study yielded
meaningful outcomes and would not have done anything differently.