When Less Is More: A Comparative Analysis for Placing

A study evaluated different approaches to placing students in adult literacy classes using 168 adult basic education (ABE) and General Educational Development (GED) students. Students in classes at Rochambeau School in White Plains, New York, were given the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE), the Tests of Adult Literacy Skills (TALS), an oral reading test, and a decoding test. They were tested upon entry into an adult literacy program and then placed into either ABE classes (three levels) or a GED preparation class (one level). Various mismatch measures, along with multiple and linear regression, were used to evaluate how well each test predicted the actual placements made. The TABE Locator, which required 37 minutes to administer, predicted actual placements as well as or better than the full TABE, which was normally administered for placement and which, with the Locator, required almost 3 hours t