EFF Publications

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Underlined titles are available online. Click on the title to download. The publication number is provided for all documents available through EDPubs. Unless otherwise noted, these publications are free of charge. To order, visit the  ED Pubs web site, email your order, or call toll free (877) 433-7827. If 877 is not yet available in your area, call 1-800-USA-LEARN (TTY/TDD call 1-800-477-0833).

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Assessing Results That Matter: Equipped for the Future's Approach to Assessment for Adult Basic Education Accountability and Improvement (Microsoft Word version, 99KB)
June 2002. Regie Stites. Over the past three years, the Equipped for the Future (EFF) standards-based reform initiative has researched and developed an approach to testing and assessment to improve practices and results in the adult education system. The EFF approach encompasses a variety of purposes for uses of testing and assessment. This policy brief explains the EFF approach to developing good assessment tools and to ensuring that these tools are put to good use in improving the quality of adult education.

EFF Hot Topics Newsletter

• Winter 2005 (PDF version, 291Kb) Volume 4, Number 1
  In this issue, HOT Topics focuses on the standard Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate and addresses these questions: What does research say about teaching math to adults?, How can EFF help me help my students with math?, and Where do I start? It provides examples of activities that will help instructors incorporate use of the Math standard into their teaching and assessment activities.
• Fall 2003 (PDF version, 500Kb) Volume 3, Number 1.
  This issue of Hot Topics focuses on the Read with Understanding standard and research-based instructional practices. Features from the EFF Reading Project include use of the Teaching and Learning Cycle to plan reading instruction, suggestions for using the RWU Diary and Guide to reflect on students' reading, and samples of learning activities constructed by the Project's ten pilot programs. Other features include applications of reading instruction for ESL learners and an RWU assessment prototype.
• Spring 2002 (PDF version, 395Kb) Volume 2, Number 1. This issue introduces a ten-step process for using standards-based instuction and assessment that focuses teachers sharply on the specific skills and knowledge students need to develop. Guiding questions and sample tools are included for each step. Teachers share examples from their classrooms to illustrate the process.(EX 0171W)
• Spring 2001 (PDF version, 656 Kb) Volume 1, Number 1. The premier issue of HOT Topics focuses on the goal-setting process, with teachers, tutuors, and learners sharing how they use the EFF Framework and mind maps to define goals. Also included is a full-page reproducible copy of an effective goal-setting tool.(EX 0138W)

EFF Research To Practice Note 1
EFF Research Principle: A Purposeful and Transparent Approach to Teaching and Learning (PDF version, 232 Kb)
October 2002. Marilyn Gillespie. This 8-page digest summarizes the research basis for "a purposeful and transparent approach to learning", the first key research principle underlying the Equipped for the Future system reform initiative. It provides three examples of EFF implementation and program practices that support the research principle, related to designing education specifically around the goals of students in their real-life roles as family members, community members, and workers. Key terms and concepts are included in a glossary. (EX0177W)

EFF Research To Practice Note 2
EFF Research Principle: An Approach to Teaching and Learning That Builds Expertise (PDF version, 220 Kb)
October 2002. Marilyn Gillespie. This 8-page digest describes how research findings related to building expertise have been applied to the development of the Equipped for the Future Content Framework and assessment system. It provides three examples of EFF implementation and program practices that support this research principle, related to how learners use prior knowledge and experience to construct meaning and acquire new knowledge. Key terms and concepts are included in a glossary. (EX0178W)

EFF Research To Practice Note 3
EFF Research Principle: A Contextualized Approach to Curriculum and Instruction (PDF version, 244 Kb)
October 2002. Marilyn Gillespie. This 8-page digest identifies the research basis for a contextualized approach to teaching and learning, the third concept underlying the Equipped for the Future system reform initiative. It provides examples of EFF implementation and program practices that support this research principle, related to the active application of knowledge and skills and how the EFF approach to education encourages learning transfer. Key terms and concepts are included in a glossary. (EX0179W)

EFF Research to Practice Note 4
EFF Research Principle: An Approach to Assessment Based on Cognitive Science (PDF version, 211 Kb)
2005. Regie Stites. This 8-page digest provides an overview of the cognitive science and measurement theory and research findings that support the EFF approach to assessment. It discusses the key findings learned from what research says about good assessment and provides examples of this principle in practice. Key terms and concepts are included in a glossary.

EFF Voice Newsletter

• Spring 2003
  This EFF Voice focuses on EFF and the workforce. The articles describe uses of the Worker role map and EFF Standards in work related curriculum and instruction. In this issue, learn how New Jersey is using EFF to build workforce readiness statewide and how local programs are using EFF to assist individuals and groups of learners in learning work related skills.


• Winter 2002
  Volume 3, Number 1 of the EFF Voice newsletter. This issue of the EFF Voice focuses on the Family Member role map and on family literacy programs that have turned to EFF as a framework for organizing and assessing curriculum and instruction. In this issue, learn more about local programs and state initiatives in Arizona, Hawaii, Missouri, South Carolina, and Washington, and how they use EFF. (EX 0168W)


• Winter 2001
  Volume 2, Number 1 of the Equipped for the Future newsletter. This issue focuses on current research and development efforts to construct an assessment framework for the EFF Content Standards that will link to the National Reporting System. The five states participating in this research and development effort are also highlighted.(EX 0132W)


• Fall/Winter 1999
  Volume 1, Number 1 of the Equipped for the Future newsletter. This issue includes information on the EFF Retail Sales project, LVA endorsement of EFF, and EFF's selection as a semifinalist in the Innovations in American Government awards competition.

Equipped for the Future: A Customer-Driven Vision for Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning
June 1995. Sondra G. Stein. This 121-page research report and compilation of essays by adult learners on how improving their literacy skills has changed their lives is the foundation of a long-term project to create national literacy standards and systemic reform. (EX 0019P)

Equipped for the Future: A Reform Agenda for Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning
February 1997. Sondra G. Stein. This 34-page report lays out the long-term standards development and system reform effort of the literacy field and provides information on progress made thus far. (EX 0020P)

Equipped for the Future Assessment Report: How Instructors Can Support Adult Learners Through Performance-Based Assessment (PDF version, 290 Kb)
July 2000. Sri Ananda. This paper introduces instructors who are using the EFF Standards to specific performance based assessment methods that show promise for measuring progress relative to the EFF Standards. (EX 0110P)

Equipped for the Future Assessment Report: EFF/NRS Data Collection Project, 2000-2001
July 2002. EFF Assessment Consortium. This report focuses on the accomplishments of the first year of the Equipped for the Future/National Reporting System (EFF/NRS) Data Collection Project, October 2000 - September 2001. It includes a discussion of work carried out on the development of the EFF Assessment Framework, the field research process and the practice-based learning of participants, and key lessons and the implications for the National Reporting System (NRS). The goal of the multiyear, jointly funded EFF/NRS project is to enable programs using EFF as a framework for instruction to report student progress from level to level on the NRS.

Equipped for the Future Content Standards: What Adults Need to Know and Be Able to Do in the 21st Century (PDF version, 3.13 Mb)
February 2000. Sondra Stein. This guide shows how content standards based on real-world skills can make the adult education system more responsive to learners' needs and also build stronger ties to workforce development and other lifelong learning efforts. (EX 0099P)

Equipped For The Future Online Discussion List
Archive of NIFL-4EFF, the National Institute for Literacy's electronic discussion list, which features targeted discussion about Equipped For The Future (EFF), the NIFL's standards-based system reform initiative. Subscribe to the discussion, or read the archived messages for this and previous years. The EFF Discussion List is a logical place to turn when you have a question or need assistance in any area related to EFF.

Equipped for the Future Research Report: Building the Framework, 1993-1997 (PDF version, 433 Kb)
March 2000. Juliet Merrifield. This historical report gives an overview of the development of the national Equipped for the Future system reform initiative from 1993-1997. (EX 0106P)

Equipped for the Future: 21st century skills for the new economy (PDF version, 159 Kb)
May 2000. An information sheet from the National Institute for Literacy on EFF standards including explanations of EFF standards and what they can provide the workforce development system.

Results That Matter: An Approach to Program Quality Using Equipped for the Future (PDF version only, 476 Kb)
August 2001. Beth Bingman & Sondra Stein. At the center of this document is the EFF Quality Model that makes explicit the vision and process of system reform using EFF Standards and other tools. Each section of the booklet corresponds with a section of the model including: 1. the goals of system reform, 2. EFF tools for change, 3. research and theories EFF has drawn upon to create those tools, 4. EFF program practices, and 5. the outcomes that EFF programs are beginning to see. The publication is designed to help state agencies and local programs to better answer the questions: "What does EFF implementation look like in action?" and "What kinds of outcomes can we expect for students, teachers, and programs as a result of EFF implementation?"

An EFF Handbook for Program Improvement: Using the Equipped for the Future Approach to Quality (PDF version)
National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) and National Urban League. 2004.
Equipped for the Future (EFF) is a standards-based approach to reform in the adult literacy education system. This handbook is designed to help community-based organizations that provide adult education improve their program quality. The handbook identifies four phases of program improvement and includes tools and other resources to support the process.

Improving Performance, Reporting Results: The Guide to Using the EFF Read with Understanding Assessment Prototype (PDF version)
This document serves as a guide to the EFF Assessment Prototype, a standardized, alternative assessment system designed for use in adult education. The prototype includes a collection of tools and guidance to help adult education programs and states use assessment of performance on the EFF standards for accountability and instructional improvement purposes. While this prototype focuses on the standard Read with Understanding, the tools and guidelines also can be adapted and used to develop assessments on other EFF standards.

The prototype contains material of interest to multiple audiences: a model that assessment developers can use to produce assessments for all the EFF standards; guidelines useful to states, programs, and classrooms as they use the prototype for accountability purposes, including information on training staff to select, administer, score, and report results; and information on developing instructional assessments. A sample assessment and glossary are included.

National Institute for Literacy's Publications Page