Note: Persons outside of Massachusetts should not contact us about ordering TABE materials or administering the test. Please contact TABE publisher McGraw-Hill/Contemporary instead (800-621-1918). This website is designed solely to provide state policy information for Massachusetts adult literacy practitioners.

The TABE (Tests of Adult Basic Education) is a commercially-produced multiple choice test with answer booklets, color-coded answer sheets, and supporting materials.This page collects program requirements for testing, testing methods, and additional tips. The publisher of the TABE, McGraw-Hill/Contemporary, has a TABE Introduction section on their website. From that page, use your "Back" button to get back to this page. Training is available through SABES on how to administer TABE Locator and Sub-Tests and report results through SMARTT.

The Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary & Secondary Education has contracted with the Center for Educational Assessment at UMass/Amherst to develop new ABE Reading and Math tests aligned with the state's Curriculum Frameworks. Programs will use these tests instead of the TABE starting in July 2006.

Massachusetts programs will use the TABE to measure learner gains in ABE reading, language, and mathematics, according to this chart:

A Locator test is given first to determine which level of the TABE test to administer to a particular student: E (Easy), M (Medium), D (Difficult) or A (Advanced). Programs then administer initial, mid-year, and end-of-year tests to measure gains.

The Locator is made up of reading, mathematics, and language test items, and gives separate scores for each of those areas. Program staff may administer the Locator for any of the three areas - reading, mathematics or language. To use the Locator, you simply count the number of correct test items (NC) to determine the corresponding level of test to administer. It is an un-timed test, though the distributor recommends allotting 20 minutes for the Practice Session (if needed) and 35 minutes for the test itself.

Only staff who have attended a SABES TABE training, passed the take-home test, and received a certificate may administer the TABE. Trained staff may not train other staff members to administer the TABE.

Use only the Complete Battery, not the Survey Test. Depending on the primary area selected by the student, a program is required to administer only the sub-tests below. While the entire Battery is not required, programs may decide to give all the sub-tests to better inform instruction. One area must be selected as the primary area to track educational gain in SMARTT.

Note: The Mathematics Computation and Spelling sub-tests are neither required nor recommended at this time.

Different levels of the TABE can be given for initial, optional mid-year, and end-of-year tests because TABE scale scores are calibrated across all levels. For example, if the Locator test placed a student at Level E, use Level E, Form 7 as the initial test. At optional mid-year, if the student is still functioning at Level E, use Level E, Form 8. If at optional mid-year the student is functioning at Level M, use Level M, Form 7. Use the same protocol for end-of-year assessments. Never give the same Form of the test at the same level sequentially to a student.

DETERMINING WHEN TO RE-TEST

TABE Test Levels are designed to assess at the following GLE ranges.

As many practitioners have noticed, a learner's Locator test score does not always accurately predict the appropriate Complete Battery Level. The Center for Educational Assessment at UMass/Amherst has developed Guidelines for Re-testing with TABE, Forms 7/8, which can be downloaded from HERE.To get a quick sense of how to determine whether retesting is necessary, go HERE now. Click your "Back" button to return to this page.)

Accommodations may be given only to students who have a documented formal diagnosis of a learning disability carried out by a licensed professional--a medical doctor, psychologist of psychiatrist or, in some cases, specialists for whom they have signed off. The program may extend the time limits for administering the TABE to time and a half for any student with a documented learning disability.

Scale Scores are superior to GLE or other measures because they are comparable across different forms of tests as well as among programs. Remember to use Scale Scores when reporting to SMARTT. Click here for a handy table of scale score correlations. (Use your "Back" button to return to this page.)

Remember too that a student's primary assessment area cannot change during the year.

Massachusetts programs should use the following materials when administering the TABE test.