Texas Adult Education Standards and Benchmarks
for ABE ASE and ESL Learners

Implementation Guide
Version 1.1
June 2008

Section 2

Standard:  Read with Understanding for ABE/ASE

  • Determine the purpose for reading.
  • Select reading strategies appropriate to the purpose.
  • Monitor comprehension and adjust reading strategies.
  • Analyze the information and reflect on its underlying meaning.
  • Integrate new understanding with prior knowledge to address the reading purpose.

Strand 1 of 6: Determine Purpose

Benchmarks: As learners progress across levels, benchmarks become more challenging and are completed with increasing independence.

Level 1
Beginning ABE Literacy

Level 2
Beginning Basic Education

Level 3
Low Intermediate Basic Education

Level 4
High Intermediate Basic Education

Level 5
Low Adult Secondary Education

Level 6
High Adult Secondary Education

1.1 Read for simple, real-life purposes as directed.

Examples

Reading a grocery list, words and prices in store ads, personal names and addresses.

1.2 Read for real-life purposes.

Examples

Reading aloud a picture book, reading about entry-level job duties, reading simple greeting cards.

1.3 Demonstrate awareness of reading for real-life purposes.

Examples

Reading a poster about minimum wage, citizenship procedures, or housing rental ads. 		1.4 Identify purpose (e.g., to be informed, to be entertained, interpret, to solve problems) to focus reading.

Examples

Reading a nutrition chart, a health clinic brochure, a newspaper advice column.

1.5 Determine the appropriate purpose for reading a variety of materials.

Examples

Reading medicine labels, voter eligibility, instructions for reading a job search website. 		1.6 Determine the appropriate purpose for reading a variety of materials.

Examples

Reading information about college financial aid, reading newspaper conflicting editorials.

Strand 2 of 6: Decode and Recognize Words

Benchmarks: As learners progress across levels, benchmarks become more challenging and are completed with increasing independence.
Level 1
Beginning ABE Literacy
Level 2
Beginning Basic Education
Level 3
Low Intermediate Basic Education
Level 4
High Intermediate Basic Education
Level 5
Low Adult Secondary Education
Level 6
High Adult Secondary Education
2.1 Decode words or word groups in simple text with assistance to

* Distinguish, generate, and manipulate sounds (segment, blend, substitute, isolate, rhyme),

* Associate sounds with the symbols that represent them,

* Recognize words from letter shapes, symbols, sight, picture clues, and common patterns, and

* Associate oral vocabulary with the written words.

Examples

* Segmenting sounds: say “cat” now say the sounds you hear in the word “cat”
/k/ /a/ /t/?

* Blending sounds: what word do you hear when I say these sounds /k/ /a/ /t/ - the answer is cat.

 2.2 Decode and recognize everyday, simple words in short, simple text with some assistance to

* Pronounce words correctly,

* Break words into syllables, and

* Recognize words using picture aids, recalling oral vocabulary, sight words, and common abbreviations.

Examples

* Breaking words into syllables:

“cattle” cat-tle
“vacate” va-cate

2.3 Decode and recognize most words in short to medium length continuous text with minimal assistance by

* Breaking words into parts, and applying pronunciation rules,

* Drawing on content knowledge and vocabulary,

* Adjusting reading pace, and

* Recognizing and interpreting contractions.

Examples

* Contractions:

won’t – will not
wouldn’t – would not

* Breaking words (e.g., suffixes and prefixes):

preschool – pre-school

 2.4 Recognize unfamiliar (some specialized) words and abbreviations by using knowledge of word parts and word relationships.

Examples

* State abbreviations:

TX – Texas
Mar – March
M.D. – medical doctor
GED – general educational development
ESL – English as a Second Language
2.5 Recognize and interpret abbreviations and some specialized content area vocabulary independently (e.g., social studies, science, and literature vocabulary).

Examples

* Know the meanings of:

periodic table
hemisphere
archipelago
metaphor
simile
personification
alliteration
poetry
prose

2.6 Recognize and interpret terms, signs, symbols, acronyms, and abbreviations independently.

Examples

* SCUBA – self-contained under water breathing apparatus.

* FAQ – frequently asked questions.

* FYI – for your information.

* IM – instant message.

* OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Strand 3 of 6: Vocabulary Development

Benchmarks:  As learners progress across levels, benchmarks become more challenging and are completed with increasing independence.

Level 1
Beginning ABE Literacy

Level 2
Beginning Basic Education

Level 3
Low Intermediate Basic Education

Level 4
High Intermediate Basic Education

Level 5
Low Adult Secondary Education

Level 6
High Adult Secondary Education
3.1 Demonstrate familiarity with concepts of print and common vocabulary.

Examples

* Gaining information from printed text:  reading left to right, top to bottom, punctuation, capitalization, book title, book author, illustrations support the text, reading captions.

3.2 Demonstrate familiarity with everyday vocabulary including multiple meaning words and synonyms and antonyms.

Examples

* Multiple meanings:

Blue: color (n), emotion (n).
Skirt: article of clothing (n), avoiding (v).

* Synonyms:

big – large – oversized

* Antonyms:

present  – absent

3.3 Demonstrate familiarity with high-interest related vocabulary (e.g., work, family, religious, school, other students’ work) including homophones, homonyms, and common idiomatic expressions.

 Examples

* Idiomatic expressions:

“I was by myself.”
“That cracks me up.”

 

3.4 Demonstrate familiarity with everyday and some specialized vocabulary (e.g., job related, health).

Examples

* Hygiene – needing to wash hands.

 3.5 Demonstrate familiarity with everyday and some specialized content vocabulary (e.g. science, social studies, and literature).

Examples

* Insurance forms.

* Tax forms.

* Botany.

* Biology.

* Political science.

* Democracy.

* Sociology.

* Anthropology.

 

3.6 Demonstrate familiarity with specialized content vocabulary in complex documents and literature (e.g. science, social studies, and literature).

Examples

* Declaration of Independence.

* Articles of Confederation.

* Amendments.

* Bill of Rights.

* Sonnets.

* Science – hypothesis/thesis.

Strand 4 of 6: Locate Information

Benchmarks:  As learners progress across levels, benchmarks become more challenging and are completed with increasing independence.
Level 1
Beginning ABE Literacy
Level 2
Beginning Basic Education
Level 3
Low Intermediate Basic Education
Level 4
High Intermediate Basic Education
Level 5
Low Adult Secondary Education
Level 6
High Adult Secondary Education
4.1 Locate information in short, simple text with guidance in response
to questions or prompts.

Examples

* Who, what, when, where.

4.2 Locate information in simple text and graphs with minimal guidance in response to questions or prompts.

Use text structure such as table of contents, chapter headings, glossaries, indices, etc. to find information.

Examples

* Bus schedule.

* Work schedule.

* Change of Address form at post office.

4.3 Locate information in simple text and graphs using a few strategies (e.g., using context cues and details, predicting, and stating main idea).

 Examples

* End of chapter review.

* Answering questions related to passage.

* First aid chart or manual.

 

4.4 Locate important information from a variety of texts and graphs using appropriate strategies (e.g., using context cues and details, predicting, skimming, scanning, and stating main idea).

Examples

* Auto owners manual.

* Assembly instructions.

* Trip planning using maps and brochures.

 4.5 Locate important information using appropriate strategies with minimal assistance (e.g., using context cues and details, predicting, skimming, scanning, and stating main idea).

Examples

* Appliance manual.

* MapQuest.

* Google™

4.6 Identify both directly stated and implied information using a variety of strategies to guide reading of long and varied texts and graphic sources (e.g., recognize bias and propaganda).

Examples

* Political ad/cartoon.

* Local news vs. USA Today newspaper.

* Editorial in newspaper.

Strand 5 of 6: Build Comprehension

Benchmarks: As learners progress across levels, benchmarks become more challenging and are completed with increasing independence.
Level 1
Beginning ABE Literacy
Level 2
Beginning Basic Education
Level 3
Low Intermediate
Basic Education
Level 4
High ntermediate
Basic Education
Level 5
Low Adult Secondary Education
Level 6
High Adult Secondary Education

5.1 Monitor own accuracy of decoding and word recognition using simple strategies, such as rereading or asking for help.

Examples

* Read aloud.

5.2 Monitor and build comprehension using strategies, such as making a list of new words, using a simplified dictionary, and rereading or restating text.

Examples

* Put information read in own words.

* Construct a simple math equation from a word problem.

5.3 Monitor and build comprehension using a range of simple strategies (e.g. posing and answering questions, identifying word and comprehension errors, using trial, error, and adjusting reading rate, and K-W-L).

Examples

* Read and re-state an incident report.

* Explain meaning of song lyrics.

5.4 Monitor and build comprehension using strategies (e.g. recalling, rephrasing, explaining the content of the text, using simple examples, and adjusting reading rate).

Examples

* Adjusting reading rate.

* Sport stories.

* TV Guides.

* Reader’s Digest.

* Consumer Reports.

* Technical Manuals.

5.5 Independently monitor and build comprehension strategies with a variety of texts.

Examples

* Correcting word recognition errors, and adjusting predictions.

5.6 Independently monitor and build comprehension strategies with a variety of texts.

Examples

* SQ4R.

* Semantic mapping.

Strand 6 of 6: Analyze and Organize Information

Benchmarks: As learners progress across levels, benchmarks become more challenging and are completed with increasing independence.
Level 1
Beginning ABE Literacy
Level 2
Beginning Basic Education
Level 3
Low Intermediate
Basic Education
Level 4
High Intermediate
Basic Education
Level 5
Low Adult Secondary Education
Level 6
High Adult Secondary Education

6.1 Recall information stated in simple lists and phrases.

Examples

* Answering questions Who?, What?, When?, Where?, and Why?

* Shopping lists.

* To do lists.

6.2 Recognize key points in simple texts and documents. 

Examples

* Notes from school.

* Menus.

* Telephone directories.

* Church bulletins.

6.3 Identify the stated or unstated main idea and supporting details of medium length texts.

Examples

* Scan newspaper for specific purposes.

* Scan flyer from health providers (i.e. heart or cancer warning signs).

6.4 Organize and analyze information in a variety of texts using some strategies such as, recall, restatement, simple sequencing, and simple categorization.

Examples

* Navigate website for a specific purpose (i.e. major purchase or job).

* Place orders by telephone based on review of printed materials.

6.5 Organize and analyze information to derive underlying meaning of texts by using classification, comparison/ contrast,  making inferences, and drawing conclusions.

Examples

* Identify figurative language.

* Distinguish fact from opinion (e.g. recognizing and interpreting political propaganda, advertising, determining author’s purpose and opinion).

* Highlight and notate key information from text.

6.6 Gain underlying meaning of specialized text using a wide range of strategies such as recognizing unstated assumptions, applying relevant information to multiple scenarios, summarizing, synthesizing information from multiple texts, and interpreting figurative language.

Examples

* Utilize web-based information for documentation.

* Interpretation of “fine print” in application for credit.

* Decide about health issues based on printed materials.

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