Success Stories

An Evidence-based Adult Education Program Model Appropriate for Research
John P. Comings, Lisa Soricone, and Maricel Santos. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, March 2006. Maricel (March 2006). This document reviews the available empirical evidence and professional wisdom in order to define a program model that meets the requirements for good practice. This program model describes what teachers, adult students, counselors, administrators, volunteers, and program partners should do to provide both effective instruction and the support services adults need to persist in their learning long enough to be successful. This paper describes a program model as having a program quality support component and three chronological program components, which are entrance into a program, participation in a program, and reengagement in learning. Though this model could also be used as a description of good programs for other purposes, here it describes the context in which research on approaches to instruction and support services could be productive. Clearinghouse Library disseminates FREE copies to Texas educators; also available online: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/op_comings4.pdf

Learners’ Engagement in Adult Literacy Education
Hal Beder, et al. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, March 2006. Engagement is mental effort focused on learning and is a precondition to learning progress. It is important to understand how and why adult learners engage in literacy instruction because engagement is a precondition to learning progress. This study focused on how learning context shapes engagement. The practical reason for doing so is that to a great extent adult educators control the educational context. Thus if they understand how the educational context shapes engagement, they can influence engagement in positive ways. Clearinghouse Library disseminates FREE copies to Texas educators; also available online: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report28.pdf

Evidence from Florida on the Labor Market Attachment of Male Dropouts Who Attempt the GED: A NCSALL Research Brief
John H. Tyler. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, July 2005. This brief highlights key findings from a study that examined the labor market attachment of male dropouts who obtained the GED credential in Florida between 1994 and 1998. Tyler compared these credentialed dropouts to the men who attempted, but failed, the GED exam during the same period. Credentialed dropouts had a higher probability of being employed one year after the exam — a difference that persisted two years later. Among individuals who were unemployed in the quarter during which they
took the tests, GED passers found jobs faster. Tyler also found that passing the tests is linked with more stable work histories for Anglo-American dropouts.

The Relationship of the Component Skills of Reading to Performance on the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS): A NCSALL Research Brief
John Strucker , Kentaro Yamamoto, and Irwin Kirsch. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, May 2005. This brief highlights key findings from a study that is a subset of a larger study being conducted jointly by NCSALL and Educational Testing Service researchers. This study builds on the proposition that a reader’s comprehension performance is largely determined by his or her abilities in two areas — print components and meaning components — and that learners’ skills, and therefore instructional needs, vary depending upon their relative strengths and weaknesses in these component areas. Print components include decoding accuracy and fluency; meaning components include oral vocabulary skills.

The Adult Competitiveness Challenge. National Council of State Directors of Adult Education
Washington, DC: National Coalition for Literacy, February 22, 2006. In his 2006 State of the Union speech, President Bush announced his decision to make America more competitive through an American Competitiveness Initiative. This high school initiative emphasizes strengthening math and science courses and improving teacher training. In this white paper, the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education asks the question, “How can we compete when 93 million adults have skills below the high school level?” The State Directors put forth The Adult Competitiveness Challenge to support The American Competitiveness Initiative, and to emphasize the need to increase educational access for millions of undereducated parents and workers as well.

Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Report to Congress on State Performance: Program Year 2003-2004
Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 2006. Accountability for results is a central focus of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, and the law sets out performance accountability requirements for states and local programs. States must reach agreement with OVAE on performance targets for core indicators of performance described in the law. They include the following: Demonstrated improvements in literacy skill levels in reading, writing and speaking the English language, numeracy, problem-solving, English language acquisition, and other literacy skills; Placement in, retention in, or completion of, postsecondary education, training, unsubsidized employment, or career advancement; and Receipt of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent. This annual Report to Congress on State Performance outlines adult education performance goals for PY 2003-2004. Data reveal national trends in adult education performance that can help policymakers during the reauthorization of AEFLA. The report also outlines the extent to which each state achieved its negotiated benchmarks. Includes data that highlights the national performance picture and a statistical profile of each state plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Making Good on a Promise: What Policymakers Can Do to Support the Educational Persistence of Dropouts
Cheryl Almeida, Cassius Johnson, and Adria Steinberg. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future, April 2006. This report focuses on the question, “Are pathways available to help dropouts pursue an education and move toward an economically productive adulthood?” By analyzing data from the first national study to follow a representative group of young people over time (the National Educational Longitudinal Study), this report assesses how far our society is from “making good” on the promise of a second chance, and offers a starting point for improving the record. Findings counter the prevailing views about the dropout population. For example, one finding is that most dropouts are remarkably persistent in their drive to complete a secondary education. Another finding concludes that although many dropouts go on to pursue postsecondary education, few earn degrees.

Welfare Reform: More Information Needed to Assess Promising Strategies to Increase Parents’ Income
United States Government Accountability Office. Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office, December 2005. After looking at 26 welfare-to-work programs, the Government Accounting Office identified job training, post-secondary education, financial literacy training and small business assistance as factors leading toward better paying employment. But GAO found a lack of understanding of how agencies can provide such services through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. Clearinghouse Library disseminates free hard copies of this 61-page document to Texas educators only. Also available online: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06108.pdf

Building Services and Systems to Support the Healthy Emotional Development of Young Children: An Action Guide for Policymakers
Jane Knitzer. New York: National Center for Children in Poverty, 2001. The early life of some young children fails to provide the parenting practices, stability of care, and healthy emotional experiences required for them to develop emotional and cognitive abilities appropriate to their age. These children are at risk educationally and behaviorally. This guide is a resource for those who want to develop policies and programs to help foster healthy emotional development in these at-risk children. The author discusses key findings from research that support investing in improved social and emotional health of young children. A framework for action and ten action steps are provided for policymakers and programs interested in developing interventions for parents and children.

Family Literacy and Adult English Language Learners: NCLE Fact Sheet
Center for Applied Linguistics. Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education, January 2002. Family literacy programs have been recognized as a way to help children become successful in school while adults develop literacy skills. The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, reflects this dual goal in its encouragement of adults to “become full partners in the educational development of their children.” The law also mentions helping adults to “become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency.” This fact sheets discusses trends and issues and best practices relating to that topic, and suggests resources for further information.

School Readiness: Helping Communities Get Children Ready for School and Schools Ready for Children
Carol Emig and Amber Moore, Editors. Washington, DC: Child Trends, October 2001. Child Trends developed this Research Brief “to help communities invest wisely in school readiness initiatives... this framework not only considers the factors related to the child, but also to the child’s family, early childhood care and education, schools, neighborhood, and the larger society. This Research Brief updates one that Child Trends published in August 2000. It includes some new research findings, as well as new sections on two additional factors that affect school readiness: emergent literacy and the media.”