Superintendent

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Superintendents Panel on Excellence in Adult
Education
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What Is Adult Education?

• The Adult Education Program provides access to
  educational opportunity for out of school youth
  and adults who need
• Instruction for a high school diploma
• Basic foundation skills in reading, writing,
  math, and critical thinking
• English language acquisition
• To be able to
• Earn a high school diploma
• Continue education/training at postsecondary
  level
• Enhance employment/work opportunities
• Obtain citizenship
• Be a better parent and help their children
  succeed

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Maryland Goals forAdult Education

• Universal Access
• High Standards of programs and individual
  educational attainment
• Program/course content aligned to learner, labor
  market and community needs
• Active partnerships to build infrastructure for
  quality adult education service

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What was the Charge to the Panel?

• Review research on elements of quality in adult
  education
• Examine the adequacy of resources devoted to
  adult education in Maryland
• Analyze the unique adult education cost pressures
  associated with students with special
  characteristics, and with the diverse service
  delivery system

• Examine the relationship between the need for
  adult education and the resources
• Provide the State Superintendent with guidance
  and recommendations for adequate adult education
  funding and a funding appropriation formula
• Develop a base funding unit

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The Need for Adult Education

• 927,264 need literacy skills, a high school
  diploma, or English Language skills
• 57 are not in the labor force
• 69 are in prime work years, ages 16 to 59
• 25 are at or below 125 of poverty

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The Need for Adult Education - Out of School
Youth

• 299,936 out of school youth, ages 16 24
• 211,066 completed 9 or more years of school
  without earning a diploma
• 14 are at or below 100 percent of poverty

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Maryland Adult Education

• High Performing
• Consistently meets and exceeds performance
  expectations.
• Has earned federal incentive funds for the state
  for the past three years.
• Demand seriously outstrips capacity
• Current seats for only 3-5 of the target
  population
• Annual waiting lists for instruction of 5,000
  students

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Findings

• Adult education is an education issue and its an
  economic issue.
• It prepares workers to help Maryland to succeed
  in the global economy
• It equips parents to prepare and support their
  children to be successful in school
• It helps reduce future costs in incarceration,
  welfare, unemployment, and health care costs

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Findings

• Marylands investment in adult education is not
  competitive with other states
• Maryland ranks 18th out of 18 East Coast states
  in state investment
• Maryland falls 90 below the average Eastern
  states 428 expenditure per student
• Virginia had 14,000 students pass the GED Tests
  in FY04, Maryland had 5,450

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Findings

• Per student expenditure is inadequate to achieve
  expected increases in student and program
  outcomes
• MD invests only 42 per student, the cost of a
  GED textbook
• Average annual contact hours per student is well
  below the goal
• Current funding does not support a stable, well
  qualified, professional workforce for
  instruction or instructional leadership
• 27 of administrators are part time
• 85 of teachers are part time

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Findings

• Adult Education requires partnerships to succeed
• Federal, State, Local Government
• Business
• Local School Systems, Community Colleges
  Community Based Organizations

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Findings

• A proposed 74 reduction Federal funding for FY
  07 puts Marylands program at risk
• Eliminates
• Services in 11 of 24 counties
• Seats for 18,000 current students
• Local jobs for 600 teachers
• Parent instruction at 34 Even Start, Judy
  Centers, Family Support Centers
• The statewide network of professional development
  for teachers

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Findings

• Its the states role to provide
• adequate funding to support the
• achievement of state and national standards and
  performance outcomes by all the organizations it
  funds.

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What is the Payoff? Learning Gains to Earnings
Gains The Investment in Adult Education Pays Off

• 76 of students with goal of obtaining a High
  School Diploma achieved their goal
• 62 of tested participants made significant
  educational gains at least one grade level
  equivalent
• 16,503 high school diplomas awarded over the past
  five years

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What is the Payoff? Learning Gains to Earnings
Gains The Investment in Adult Education Pays Off

• Wage gains of 1,817 to 2,579 within 18 months
  of program exit for employed students
• Every dollar invested in adult education yielded
  a return of 3.15 to Maryland economy in
  increased earnings (FY04)
• Local economies netted 45 million in annual
  earnings gains (FY04)
• People with a high school diploma earn 7,216
  more a year in wages (U.S. Department of Commerce)

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Recommendations

• Stepping Up To The Plate

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Recommendation 1

• Increase the Investment in Adult Education
• Create in statute, a state appropriation formula
  for adult education

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What Investment Is Needed?

• A research based prototype program
• 120 instructional hours per learner
• Enrollment of 40,000 students annually
• A 50/50 state and local share of the cost
  (federal funding reducing the required
  local share)
• A per student funding of 1,803
• Phase in over four to five years
• Cost Additional state investment for the fully
  phased-in appropriation formula - 26.5 Million

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Recommendation 2

• Consolidate All State Funding for Adult
  Education

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Recommendation 3
Establish a Plan and Incentives to Encourage
Workplace Education Partnerships with Business
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Recommendation 4

• Develop and Publish an annual State Performance
  Report on the Adult Education Program

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Can you support the Panel recommendations and
help us to implement them?
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Discussion Questions

• What is the impact of undereducated adults and
  out of school youth on your business/organization
  ?
• How can you step up to the plate?
• How should the GWIB respond to the Panel
  recommendations?

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Superintendents Panel on Excellence in Adult
Education