[NLA] Thursday Notes, 1/3/02

[Tilghman, Rose]

>From the Desk of Ronald S. Pugsley, Director, DAEL
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Editor: Sarah Newcomb
Production: Rose Tilghman

January 3, 2002				
___________________________________

How Can Programs 
Keep Students Learning?

A three-year study of library literacy programs by the Manpower
Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) and the National Center for the
Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) is beginning to explore the
relationship between strategies and persistence. Final results are due in
2003. Among the techniques that appear related so far are: 

*	Individualized attention to students made possible by stable
leadership, access to technology, solid financial support, and relatively
small student populations;

*	Tailoring instructional methods to students' needs while maintaining
an assessment system to measure learning gains; 

*	Strategies that accommodate students' cultural and personal
identities, goals, and learning disabilities.

Funding by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation and the Department. For
more, see http://www.mdrc.org  Click the "education" header and scroll to I
Did It for Myself.

Multi-State Project
Assesses Graduation
Requirements

Five states--IN, KY, MA, NV and TX--are working together to target gaps
between what high school graduates know and skills they need for
postsecondary education and the workplace. The cooperative effort between
education and business groups aims to establish national benchmarks for high
school graduation in reading, writing, and mathematics achievement. The
18-month project also will assist the five states in strengthening academic
standards as well as education accountability systems. States were selected
based on experience in implementing standards-based education reform. See
http://www.nga.org/center  Search for American Diploma Project.

Who Is An Adult?

The definition of "adolescence" is creeping up--with some definitions as
high as 26 or 34 years of age--according to the Washington Post. Professors
at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University comment the term
may have been stretched so far it's meaningless. A new MacArthur Foundation
study is tasked with developing descriptions of when adulthood starts and
how the timing of adulthood has changed. See http://www.washingtonpost.com
Click on Style for 1/3/02.

Shop Talk January 10 

Due to the holiday this week, our "Shop Talk" will be held on January 10. Be
sure to join us!

____________________________________________________________________________
___________________
A Fact Sheet from the Division of Adult Education and Literacy
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
OVAE Homepage http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/


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