You
are here: Home > About
TOWES > TOWES History
TOWES History
Background
During the 1990s, workplace trainers expressed the need for a test of workplace
essential skills that would yield similar results to the International
Adult Literacy Study (IALS) and complement the job description methodology
developed for Canada's Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) Essential
Skills Research Project.
This new assessment would allow workers' skills to be compared to the
requirements of a job as described in the Essential Skills Profile and
HRSD's National
Occupational Classifications. The assessment would also
provide a valid and consistent way of describing adult skills. Existing
methods, such as using grade-level comparisons, imply an equivalency between
the skills used by children and those used by adults.
TOWES Joint Venture
In March 1997, the National Literacy Secretariat (NLS) hosted a meeting
in Ottawa of developing such an assessment tool. At the table were representatives
from Statistics Canada, HRSD, the NLS, Bow
Valley College, and SkillPlan (British
Columbia Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council). Subsequent
discussions showed considerable support for the idea, and a development
proposal was submitted by the lead partners.
In early 1998, SkillPlan and Bow
Valley College formed a joint venture project to develop TOWES (Test
of Workplace Essential Skills). The project received funding from the
NLS and work began in earnest. The TOWES project recruited Stan Jones,
a principal researcher for the IALS, as test designer and psychometrician.
The project also formed a national advisory committee.
Researchers from SkillPlan were also involved in HRSD's Essential
Skills Research Project and had a strong understanding of workplace
essential skills and the methodology used to collect data about those
skills. This research expertise, coupled with the two organizations access
to populations of workers in a wide variety of work settings, provided
a fertile ground for the development of TOWES.
Demonstration Projects
TOWES went coast to coast to coast in 2000 to undertake four national demonstration
projects. Each project focussed on a particular facet of test design, test administration,
or reporting.
In Calgary's vibrant manufacturing sector, TOWES set out to see if the
assessment tool could be modified to fit the broad assessment needs of
employers and workers within a particular sector; in this case, entry-level
workers in manufacturing.
In the Northwest Territories, special test items were developed that
would enable TOWES to assess the skills of special populations such as
Aboriginal workers. The northern mining industry has made a strong commitment
to employ and train Aboriginal workers. Assessing baseline skills is a
necessary starting point for effective training and is critical for the
health and safety of workers in the mine. TOWES staff continue to help
industry trainers develop curriculum and learning materials for their respective
workforces.
TOWES staff also ventured onto the long shore in Atlantic Canada. Here
they provided an entry-level standard for essential skills that employers,
unions, and workers could all agree was fair. All stakeholders recognized
the need to raise skill levels in anticipation of further mechanization
of work on the docks; larger, 'post-Panama' ships have increased the size
and complexity of cargo handling equipment. At the same time, producers,
shippers and their customers are demanding stringent quality standards
for handling all types of cargo.
On the prairies where giant, concrete silos are replacing local, small-town
elevators, TOWES was used to determine employee skill levels so that appropriate
training and placement services could be offered during industry restructuring.
Management had many questions about how to move employees and adjust work
duties to fit the new 'concretes.' The level of technology is much higher
in the new grain facilities and many new skills are needed to do the work.
In all of these projects, the TOWES team refined item development, test
design, and administration procedures.
TOWES-IALS Linking Study
In October 2000, the TOWES development team began implementing the TOWES-IALS
Linking Study, a field test of over 2,600 test-takers at sites across
Canada. Test items from the TOWES test bank were combined with test items
from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) to produce 15 different
TOWES test booklets. These booklets were given to a cross-section of
the Canadian public aged 16 to 65 with a variety of educational backgrounds.
Linking TOWES to the international standard of IALS provided the statistical
information needed to successfully interpret TOWES scores.
The testing and scoring portion of the TOWES-IALS Linking Study was completed
by December of 2001. The final report concluded:
The range of analyses that were undertaken from estimating scoring
reliability to estimating item order effects to scaling and linking
all yield consistent evidence to support the reliability and validity
of the TOWES items and for placing them on the IALS literacy scales.
Please see our Research
Library for the executive summary of the report and other research
on TOWES.
TOWES Available Across Canada
Upon completion of nation-wide field testing and extensive psychometric
review, TOWES was ready to be released to the Canadian market, and poised
to become Canada's Essential Credential. A national network was built
to distribute the TOWES assessment and the associated product line. The
scope and breadth of the system is unique, encompassing 33 colleges across
Canada (and growing), and making the TOWES product line available in
virtually every region at hundreds of different campuses.
TOWES Transfer of Ownership
In April 2004, Bow Valley College assumed production responsibilities from
its joint venture partner Skillplan and became the sole owner of TOWES.
Bow Valley College's substantial resources will now focus on supplying
the test nationally through its 33 college distributors across Canada.
Page Updated: Friday, August 03, 2007