The content used for the measurement stresses subject matter of high interest to adults -- skills used in problem solving, in decision making, in living itself. Therefore, the examinee, in working with real-life test stimuli such as transportation schedules or product labels, can be effectively measured for reading skills. A short paragraph about a job interview can gauge mastery of grammar and sentence structure -- language skills. Similarly, a diagram of a home-improvement project can probe an examinee's knowledge of mathematics applications such as estimation. In work, home, and academic contexts familiar to the test taker, specific skills are tapped.

Forms 7 & 8 provide norm-referenced and criterion-referenced information for a diverse and growing number of adult education programs. Beyond the traditional uses of such an assessment, TABE 7 & 8 meets the emerging needs of a variety of users. These include literacy and ABE instruction groups and GED, Employment Development, JTPA, and School-to-Work programs. The assessment is also designed to satisfy the requirements of business, industry, colleges, and correctional facilities.

Because some examinees may just be mastering literacy in English, Level L, is available. The assessment also features increased difficulty at upper levels. TABE 7 & 8 can measure accurately the skills of an examinee at the pre-reading stage as well as one who is competent at the high school level and beyond.