ND Adult Basic & Secondary Education

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NDABSE Assessment

The purpose of this page is to provide support for educators on the TABE test and the BEST Test. The TABE Test and the BEST Literacy test are mandatory when working with ABSE or ELL students.

Test of Adult Basic Education
TABE 9 & 10

North Dakota uses TABE 9 & 10 to for pre and post testing all students enrolled in ABSE programs. The TABE test is used to determine where the student needs to begin and also to measure learner gains. The TABE test is a commercially produced test with multiple choice questions in Reading, Math Computation, Math Application, Language, Vocabulary, and Spelling. The Locator test is given to determine which level the student will take. The TABE test has several different levels which include Literacy, Level E, Level M, Level D, and Level A.

The TABE scaled scores are entered into the assessment section of the North Dakota Student Information Management System (SIMS) for each student.

TABE 9 & 10 Correlations Adult Basic Education (ABE)
Subject Area	Scaled Scores	Grade Equivalent	NRS Level
Reading	367 and below 368–460 461–517 518–566 567–595 596 and above	0–1.9 2–3.9 4–5.9 6–8.9 9–10.9 11–12	Beginning ABE Literacy Beginning Basic Education Low Intermediate ABE High Intermediate ABE Low Adult Secondary Education Adult High Secondary Education
Math	313 and below 314–441 442–505 506–565 566–594 595 and above	0–1.9 2–3.9 4–5.9 6–8.9 9–10.9 11–12	Beginning ABE Literacy Beginning Basic Education Low Intermediate ABE High Intermediate ABE Low Adult Secondary Education Adult High Secondary Education
Language	389 and below 390–490 491–523 524–559 560–585 586 and above	0–1.9 2–3.9 4–5.9 6–8.9 9–10.9 11–12	Beginning ABE Literacy Beginning Basic Education Low Intermediate ABE High Intermediate ABE Low Adult Secondary Education Adult High Secondary Education

The TABE tests can be ordered through CTB McGraw-Hill. For more information on the TABE tests click here.

The TABE tests also have correlations to CTB McGraw-Hill materials. To go to these correlation pages click here.

The National Reporting System (NRS) has information on the TABE test here.

To download the NRS Educational Functioning Level (EFL) Table go here.

For further information please look in the ND MASS manual.

BEST Test

The BEST test is used as a pre and post test for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The BEST test measure reading and writing skills, can be administered individually or in groups and takes approximately an hour or less to complete.

The BEST Literacy is available in forms B, C, and D and can be used for pre and post-testing. The BEST Literacy requires no formal training. All information needed for administering the BEST Literacy if found in the text manual.

For more information go to the CAL website.

BEST Plus/BEST Literacy English as a Second Language (ESL)
Subject	Scale Scores	SPS	NRS Level
BEST Plus Best Literacy	400 and below 0–7	SPL 0–1 SPL 0–1	Beginning ESL
BEST Plus Best Literacy	401–417 8–35	SPL 2 SPL 2	Low Beginning ESL
BEST Plus Best Literacy	418–438 36–46	SPL 3 SPL 3	High Beginning ESL
BEST Plus Best Literacy	439–472 47–53	SPL 4 SPL 4	Low Intermediate ESL
BEST Plus Best Literacy	473–506 54–65	SPL 5 SPL 5	High Intermediate ESL

The BEST test can be ordered from The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL). For more information on ordering the BEST Test click here.

The National Reporting System (NRS) has information on the BEST Plus test here.

For further information please look in the ND MASS manual.

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