Abstract
Even before the 2001 enactment of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the education bill that holds schools in the US accountable for student achievement, ‘adult education [had] become part and parcel of the new federal trend to encourage the setting of national education goals and standards and holding programs accountable for demonstrating achievements’ (Sticht 1998). Now, almost ten years after enacting the Workforce Investment Act (1998), the legislation that required states to report how adult students were making progress towards educational and work goals, the field is just beginning to take stock of whether accountability has helped or hurt our adult education system.In the US school system (kindergarten to 12th grade for children five to 18), several researchers have investigated the effect of stronger accountability requirements on professional development systems. Berry et al. (2003), in a study of 250 teachers and principals in schools across six Southeastern US states found that results were mixed:Although high-stakes accountability systems help focus professional development efforts on the curricular needs of students, little evidence exists to support the claim that such systems help teachers change their practice to enhance student learning...A tendency exists…to narrow the focus of professional development activities to tested subjects or provide general support that is disconnected from curricular needs. (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development 2004:3)
Highlights
The purpose of this article is to provide initial information, through the perceptions of practitioners in the adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) field, about how the implementation of the National Reporting System (NRS), has affected professional development systems, activities, and opportunities
Literacy & Numeracy Studies Vol 17 No 3 2009. Why is it important whether a national system of reporting and accountability has had an effect on the type of professional development that adult basic education teachers receive through their state professional development systems? In the ABLE field, where the majority of teachers do not have much formal education related to teaching adults (Smith et al 2003), and few states require certification related to adult education (Smith 2006), professional development is the primary mechanism for preparing teachers with the knowledge and skills about instructional practices that will spur adult student achievement
If adult basic education teachers have much less access to professional development than their counterparts in the school system (Smith & Hofer 2003), and if the NRS has increased the proportion of professional development that practitioners are required to have related to implementing assessments and reporting, it may mean that instructionally-focused professional development is ‘competing’ with accountability-focused professional development for teachers’ time
Summary
The purpose of this article is to provide initial information, through the perceptions of practitioners in the adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) field, about how the implementation of the National Reporting System (NRS) (the accountability system in the US for ABLE), has affected professional development systems, activities, and opportunities. Literacy & Numeracy Studies Vol 17 No 3 2009 Why is it important whether (and how) a national system of reporting and accountability has had an effect on the type of professional development that adult basic education teachers receive through their state professional development systems? If adult basic education teachers have much less access to professional development than their counterparts in the school system (Smith & Hofer 2003), and if the NRS has increased the proportion of professional development that practitioners are required to have related to implementing assessments and reporting, it may mean that instructionally-focused professional development is ‘competing’ with accountability-focused professional development for teachers’ time. An important question for ABLE is whether the accountability system has improved reporting at the expense of teachers receiving professional development about instruction.
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