Title: Adult Education: Outcomes, Measurement, and Building Capacity
1Adult Education Outcomes, Measurement, and
Building Capacity
Hans K. Meeder Deputy Assistant Secretary Office
of Vocational and Adult Education United States
Department of Education July 2004
2A Shared Vision for Adult Education and Literacy
- Adults will have opportunities to improve
their basic and literacy skills in high-quality
research based programs that will equip them to
succeed in the next step of their education and
employment.
3What is Literacy?
- Definition from the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 - an individuals ability to read, write, speak
in English, compute and solve problems at levels
of proficiency necessary to function on the job,
in the family of the individual and in society.
4The literacy skills of Americas adults
- 21-23 percent (40 to 43 million) at Level 1 -
lowest level of prose, document, and quantitative
proficiencies. - 25-28 percent (about 50 million) at Level 2.
- (source National Adult Literacy Survey, 1992)
5NALS Levels
- Level 1. Able to perform simple, routine tasks
involving brief and uncomplicated texts and
documents. - Level 2. Able to locate information in text, to
make low-level inferences using printed
materials, and to integrate easily identifiable
pieces of information. - Levels 3-5. Able to integrate information from
relatively long or dense text or long and complex
documents.
6U.S. Department of Education 491.5 million,
state grants 69.5 million, EL-Civics 10.1
million, incentive grants 9.2 million, national
leadership 6.7 million, National Institute for
Literacy
Designated State Agency Receive state grant
allocation Hold 12.5 percent state leadership
activities Allocate 87.5 percent competitive
grants
Community and Faith-based organizations
K-12 Education Systems
Community colleges
Corrections, employers, others
7Purpose of AEFLA
- Federal-state-local partnership to provide adult
education and literacy services to - Assist adults to become literate -- employment
and self-sufficiency - Assist adults who are parents -- full partners in
development of their children and - Assist adults -- completion of secondary school.
8What is Adult Education?
- Services below postsecondary level, 16 years
- Not enrolled in secondary school under state
law - Lack basic educational skills
- Do not have a secondary school diploma or its
equivalent or - Are unable to speak, read, or write in English.
9Adult Education Enrollment (2002-2003)
- Adult basic Education 1,079,386 (39)
- English Literacy 1,175,531 (43)
- Adult Secondary
- Education 479,269 (18)
- Total 2,734,186
(U.S. Department of Education, Office of
Vocational and Adult Education, Division of Adult
Education and Literacy, 2004)
10Enrollment of 16-24 year olds
11Outcomes and Measurement
- 5 Core Outcome Measures
- Primary Goal Educational Gain
12Core Outcome Measure 1 Educational Gain
Definition Learner completes or advances one or
more educational functioning levels Applicable
Population All learners. Collection Procedure
At intake, an individual learners educational
functioning level is determined using a uniform,
standardized assessment procedure approved by the
state.
13Core Outcome Measure 1 Educational Gain
Examples of standardized tests TABE, CASAS,
BEST, WorkKeys Met the Goal (FY 2002) 1,028,275
(38)
14Core Outcome Measures
- Core Outcome Measure 2 Entered Employment.
- Core Outcome Measure 3 Retained Employment
- Core Outcome Measure 4 Receipt of a Secondary
School Diploma or GED - Core Measure 5 Placement in Postsecondary
Education or Training
15Measuring Outcomes
National Reporting System (NRS) Website
http//www.nrsweb.org/ This site provides adult
education teachers, administrators and others
reference materials and training related to the
National Reporting System.
16Measuring Outcomes
- National Reporting System (NRS) Publications
- NRS Follow-up Survey Guidelines.
- NRS Implementation Guidelines.
- NRS Data Quality Guide and Training.
- NRS Data Use Guide.Â
17Building Capacity Through National Research
Investments
- Adult Literacy Network
- OVAEs contribution - 700,000
- Adolescent Literacy Network
- OVAEs contribution - 800,000
- Over a five year period.
18Building Capacity Through National Investments
- STudent Achievement in Reading (STAR) Project.
- Strategic Planning and Service Provision
Demonstration Program. - Community Partnerships for Adult Learning
(C-PAL). - Adult Education Standards Assessment Warehouse.
19Building Capacity Through National Investments
- Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) Project
- A pilot program in five states (CA, IL, OH, CT,
SD) committed to the improvement of reading
instruction. - This is an effort to translate the research-based
principles, into useable classroom practices and
to infuse those practices into classrooms and
instructional settings.
20Building Capacity Through National Investments
- Strategic Planning and Service Provision
Demonstration Program - To identify, document, and disseminate
approaches to strategic planning among state
agencies, effective leveraging of funds, and
coordination of programs. - The results will support the efforts of all
states to increase the quality, efficiency, and
effectiveness of adult basic and literacy
education services.
21Building Capacity Through National Investments
- Community Partnerships for Adult Learning (C-PAL)
- Development of a web-based toolkit.
- Case studies of successful community
partnerships. - Identification and dissemination of promising
practices derived from case studies. - Website http//www.c-pal.net/
22Building Capacity Through National Investments
- Adult Education Standards Assessment Warehouse
- Improving the quality of instruction through
the development of content standards is a
critical step in developing effective curriculum
and meaningful assessment to enhance student
learning.
23Building Capacity Through National Investments
- Adult Education Standards Assessment Warehouse
- Electronic information warehouse providing
universal access to data. - How To Guide for establishing state standards
and assessments. - State collaborative working groups to develop
state adult education content standards.
24Workforce InnovationsJuly 2004
Hans Meeder Deputy Assistant Secretary U.S.
Department of Education Office of Vocational and
Adult Education