Academics · Adult Learning

Real texts,
real reading.

A placement test gives a level; a medicine label shows whether a learner can get through a Tuesday. Hand the learner a real document, ask what a person would need to know and rate how it went, from on their own to not yet. The organizer averages the ratings, checks that the tasks match the learner’s goal and lists what to practice next.

Start a checkWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Academics Suite pass, $149 for 144 items.

Reading checks

The worked example is made up: a beginning-basic learner aiming for work, an intermediate learner managing a family member’s health, and a beginning reader with a child in school. Learners are recorded by code. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Academics · Adult Learning$5

What you finish with
A record per learner per check: a code, the date, the placement level, the main goal, a row per real-world task with a 0 to 3 rating, minutes and a note, six reading strategies seen or not yet, and a next step. Gives the tasks tried, those done alone and the average; flags tasks to practice, a goal with no matching task, medicine labels not yet read alone and readiness for longer texts.
Who it is for
Adult education, family literacy and workforce program teachers and tutors working with adults at the beginning to intermediate reading levels.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per check. Prints one check, every check in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Academics Suite pass ($149) and the Caveat Suite pass ($299). Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Adult Learning space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pick tasks that fit the learner’s goal.
  2. Hand over a real document.
  3. Ask what a person would need to know.
  4. Rate it and note what you saw.
  5. Write the next step.

Start a check

Reading that gets something done

Real texts to bring in, by goalWorkA job application withwork historyA pay stub: gross,net, deductionsA workplace safetysignHealthA prescription label:how much, how oftenAn appointment cardA letter from aninsurerHome and familyA notice from achild’s schoolA utility bill and itsdue dateA lease: rent, latefees, repairsReal texts to bring in, by goalWorkA job application with work historyA pay stub: gross, net, deductionsA workplace safety signHealthA prescription label: how much, how oftenAn appointment cardA letter from an insurerHome and familyA notice from a child’s schoolA utility bill and its due dateA lease: rent, late fees, repairs
Black out names, addresses and account numbers before a document goes into class.

Why real documents

Adult learners come to class to read the things in their lives: forms, labels, schedules and letters. Checking those tasks directly shows which skills transfer and which need teaching, such as reading a table, telling gross pay from take-home pay or following directions with several steps. It also gives the learner a visible win when a task moves from “with help” to “on my own.”

How this fits with placement levels

Federally funded adult education programs report learners’ progress through educational functioning levels from beginning literacy to high adult secondary, set by the National Reporting System and measured with approved tests. A functional check like this one does not replace those tests. It sits beside them as classroom evidence and a plan for what to teach next.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education: National Reporting System for Adult Education, Implementation Guidelines (educational functioning levels).
  2. College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).
  3. LINCS (Literacy Information and Communication System): adult reading instruction resources (lincs.ed.gov).
  4. National Center for Education Statistics, Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC): adult literacy in the U.S.

The worked example is made up. This is a classroom record, not a standardized assessment. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.