Introduction: In North America, adult basic education is a generic term used to denote the building blocks of the lifelong learning structure. Basic education refers to the fundamental areas of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and mathematics. These basic areas of communication and computation are the foundation that gives individuals the power and freedom to control their own lives and to meet the demands of an ever-changing society. With the provision of these skills, the building of a basic education is possible.

In the Unites States and Canada, the rubric adult literacy and basic education connotes a field of practice that includes programs of adult basic education (ABE) and, in some communities, English as a second language (ESL). ABE usually aims not only at developing competence with printed English, but also at computational and other coping skills. As described in Chapter Thirty-Seven, the main emphasis in ESL is on teaching conversational skills and, more recently, on teaching reading.

Delker (1984) conducted a study to determine the status of adult literacy programs funded by the state-administered programs of the Adult Education Act (Public Law 91-230). He concluded that the act supported three distinct programs: (1) ABE, (2) adult secondary education (ASE) or high school completion, and (3) ESL. In Canada, under the British North American Act of 1867, education became a provincial responsibility. Therefore, adult literacy and basic education in Canada is the exclusive responsibility of the ten provinces and two territories. Each has a slightly different mechanism for the delivery of specific instruction, but, generally, basic education refers to courses and programs designed to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for an adult to function in modern society. These programs include adult basic literacy and numeracy, high school equivalency, citizenship training, instruction in English as a second language and, in some provinces, French as a second language. In both the United States and Canada, ESL literacy is becoming a linking component between separately administered ABE and ESL programs. In Canada, ASE or high school equivalency, which provides the credentials for job entry or further training, is usually delivered under the auspices of an adult basic education or adult retraining department in a community college, or in an adult day school in a board of education, or through a correspondence course offered by a ministry of education.

Introduction: Adult education and training in both business and industrial environments have encouraged the growth of programs and courses which require some form of prior assessment of adult knowledge and skills coupled with the measurement of final outcomes. A recent federal government report entitled A Review of the Canadian Job Strategy (1988) has sparked a new interest in establishing valid instruments for adult selection into academic, job-training, upgrading and work place literacy programs.

In both Canada and the United States numerous publications such as Competing in the New Global Economy (1988), the Quarterly Labour Market & Productivity Review (1988), Basic Skills in the Workplace (1988), and Workforce 2000 (1987) attest to the fact that the knowledge explosion is creating new information so rapidly that job skills and knowledge are becoming obsolete in an ever shorter period of time. Less that 2 years ago more than 100,000 jobs were lost and hundreds of thousands of Canadians were severely affected by technological change. To cope with change, workers and employers must be equipped with new skills and in turn a mechanism for assessment of these new skills.

Individuals will increasingly need to be trained and retrained or upgraded so that they may participate fully in this new economy. Attached to this strategy of re-skilling is the requirement of some form of adult assessment.

Many provinces are now putting in place contemporary skills training systems as part of the balanced economic policy. For example, Ontario's Training Strategy through the Ontario Basic Skills and Ontario Basic Skills in the Workplace are equipping workers with the job entry and basic literacy and numeracy skills essential to gaining employment, further training or becoming a more effective worker. Prior assessment of adult knowledge and skills as well as measurement of final outcomes take on an integral part in this new training system.

Investment in people is a key strategy in our economic renewal. Utilizing the human resources of both working and non-working people to overcome barriers to participation in the labour market is a part of a balanced economic policy. Adult assessment therefore plays a vital role in this strategy. Assessment of the basic dimensions can be viewed as a mechanism in the decision making process. Adult educators must be aware of the different purposes of adult assessment, the different methods of testing and the considerations in choosing a test or measure.

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