Adult Learner Transitions

After the GED: Helping Students Take the Next Step

For students who want to “find a good job,” it is more important than ever that they seek postsecondary education or training. Many of the jobs that will be available in the United States in the future will require higher levels of education. A 2003 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Tomorrow’s Jobs, found that 60 percent of the fastest growing occupations require a bachelor’s or associate degree. The report also found, “On-the-job training is the most significant source of postsecondary education or training for all 20 of the occupations with the largest numerical decreases.”

In 2005, the GED Testing Service reported that of those who passed the GED Test, 62.9 percent did so to continue their education. 50 percent stated that they planned to attend college (2005). However, by the mid 1990s, adult educators teaching GED classes were already aware that only a few GED completers actually enrolled in college. Some programs began searching for ways to encourage students to use their GED as a “stepping stone” to a brighter future.

You may be familiar with John Tyler’s research that has shown the economic benefits of the GED credential are small unless the GED is used as a pathway to postsecondary education or training. “These days a postsecondary degree is necessary for economic success,” explained Tyler in a recent conversation with Focus on Basics editor Barbara Garner (Garner, 2006).

Tyler and colleague, Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas, used Texas data to examine the college enrollment rates and secondary completion rates of Texas students. A cohort of students was selected that had similar math scores on the state math exam in the eighth grade. Texas Education Agency data allowed the comparisons of on-time, late, and “at-risk” high school graduates with those completing with a GED credential. Three years after the cohort’s “on time” graduation in 1998, “Only 20 percent of GED holders enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Texas within three years of getting the GED. That’s not good for GED holders,” said Tyler (Garner, 2006). In the same Texas study, Tyler and Lofstrom found that 59 percent of high school graduates enrolled in postsecondary education within three years. What can programs do to support students in making this transition?

Two recently published studies report on the efforts of Adult Education programs to establish effective methods for transitioning adult students to postsecondary institutions. In Helping Adult Learners Make the Transition to Postsecondary Education, Judy Alamprese “discusses the challenges ABE programs must address in developing and implementing transition services, provides examples of emerging efforts, and discusses the implications of this transformation for policy and practice,” (2006). Alamprese also notes that developing effective transition services in Adult Education requires “new forms of instruction, enhanced services, and collaborative relationships with other agencies and organizations.”

Alamprese observes that the services currently being provided fall into three service areas: Academic preparation, which extends instruction beyond the GED level in reading, math, writing, and computer use; Counseling, which covers study skills, time and stress management, orientation to college life, and the application process for admission and financial aid; and Mentoring, which provides encouragement and support as the student enters postsecondary classes and the college environment.

In her 10-page report, Alamprese mentions the work of the ABE-to-College Transition Project in New England, funded by the Nellie Mae Educational Foundation. The project, directed by the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) at World Education, Inc., funded 25 programs in 2000 to develop and implement transitional services for adults entering postsecondary education. In 2004, the National College Transition Network (NCTN) was created at World Education, Inc. to handle requests from the field for information and technical support on the development of transition services. (See article Adult Transition and the National College Transition Network
By Cynthia Zafft).

A qualitative research study of the emerging transition programs was published in August of 2006. Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic Education Program Models, written by NELRC and NCTN staff members Cynthia Zafft, Silja Kallenbach, and Jessica Spohn, surveyed 23 ABE-to-college transition programs with the goal of developing a typology of the transition programs that were emerging. The authors were already aware that the programs were implementing differing transition support programs to meet the specific needs of each program’s offerings, location, and student population. This study also describes the ABE-to-college transition state initiatives of four states: Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, and Oregon.

Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic Education Program Models identifies five transition program models. This report (70 pages) provides enough detailed information on the five models and how they function within the ABE programs to be useful to practitioners and directors seeking to improve ABE-to-college transition services. The authors review the finding of previous research on the benefits of postsecondary education and the challenges faced by nontraditional students in postsecondary education. The authors also review several earlier studies of transition programs, some with roots in workforce and some with a high school-to-college perspective.

These five transition models are identified in this study:

Advising model – Key features include: 1) information on postsecondary options distributed through presentations students may attend; 2) individual advising; 3) wide range of intensity of service

GED-Plus model – Key features include: 1) addition of critical thinking skills and algebra concepts to academic content; 2) focused on students with a goal of postsecondary work; 3) accelerates learning but less expensive than college prep model.

ESOL model – Key features include: 1) focus on advanced language skills required for academic settings; 2) specific curricula with clear benchmarks for entry into program; high program intensity; 4) close monitoring of gains; 5) often does not include math.

Career Pathways model – Key features include: 1) contextualized curriculum related to career interest; 2) access to college-level occupational training for those not academically ready for college; 3) accesses resources from private employers and workforce development programs; 4) creates steppingstones toward career certificates and academic credentials; instruction related to career interest helps persistence.

College Prep model – Key features include: 1) Direct instruction in algebra, reading strategies, and critical thinking; 2) attempts to align curriculum with postsecondary entry courses; 3) aims to save student financial resources by placing students into college level courses; 4) classes model college-style environment; 5) creates cohorts within the transition program; 6) comprehensive counseling on college environment, study skills, application process, financial aid, and time management.

An excellent feature of this study is the discussion of how the different transition models address the identified challenges faced by nontraditional students in postsecondary education. Zafft, Kallenbach, and Spohn also make recommendations for policy development at the state and national level in regard to assessment and outcomes, funding, professional development, collaborations, and future research.

NCTN’s mission is “to support ABE staff, programs, and states in establishing and strengthening ABE-to-college transition services through technical assistance, professional development, collegial sharing, research, advocacy, and increased visibility for this critical sector of the adult basic education system,” (Zafft, Kallenbach, & Spohn, 2006). To support the dissemination of resources on transition, NELRC hosts the NCTN Website.

Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic Education Program Models was published as a NCSALL Occasional Paper and is available online at the NCSALL website. http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=26 and on the NCTN Website.

As always these resources are available to Texas educators from TCALL.

Alamprese, J. A. (2006). Helping adult learners make the transition to postsecondary education. Bethesda, MD: Abt Associates Inc. Retrieved January 15, 2007, from: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ ovae/pi/AdultEd/transition.html

Alamprese, J. A. (2004). Approaches to ABE transition to postsecondary education. Focus on Basics, 6(D), 26-27.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2005). Tomorrow’s jobs. Retrieved January 15, 2007, from: http://www.bls.gov/oco/content/oco2003.stm

Garner, B. (2006). Is the GED an effective route to postsecondary education? Focus on Basics, 8(C), 14-15.

GED Testing Service. (2005). Who passed the GED Tests? 2003 statistical report. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

Zafft, C., Kallenbach, S., & Spohn, J. (2006). Transitioning adults to college: Adult basic education program models. (NCSALL Occasional Paper) Boston, MA: World Education, Inc. Retrieved January 15, 2007, from: http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=26