[NLA] Thursday Notes, 6/13/02

[Tilghman, Rose]

Thursday Notes
>From the Division of Adult Education and Literacy
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Editor: Sarah Newcomb
Production: Rose Tilghman

June 13, 2002				
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42 States Have Agreed 
on Performance Levels

At press time, 42 states and outlying areas had reached tentative agreement
with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education on performance targets for
years four and five of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act.
Performance targets must be approved by the Division Director and Assistant
Secretary. Among states still discussing levels with the Department, the
remaining point generally is whether some proposed levels are sufficient to
demonstrate continuous improvement in performance of adult education
programs in the fourth and fifth years. 

MA Auditors Check
Learners' Gain Data

Massachusetts isn't the "show-me" state, but its state Department of
Education is making sure learner gain data is valid and reliable. The state
has hired an accounting firm to contact a random sample of learners to
verify: their active enrollment and period of attendance; goals set and
attained; and satisfaction with the services received. The accounting firm
sends a report to the state Department of Education. The Department then
holds a meeting with local program officials and the auditor to discuss
recommendations related to the accuracy, timeliness and quality of the
program's data collection and recording processes.  Contact
<mailto:dcornellier at doe.mass.edu> 

ID Ties Down Share
of Incentive Grant

Idaho state director of adult education Shirley Spencer announced last week
that collaborations among state agencies have netted $244,000 of the
$975,000 available to the state as an incentive grant to be used for adult
education activities. ID is one of just a dozen states that earned incentive
grants by exceeding their performance measures in Title I, vocational and
adult education programs. States have the option of using any or all of
their incentive grant funds for WIA Title I, vocational education or adult
education activities.  Spencer plans to use the funds to purchase the latest
version of standardized tests for all adult education programs, train staff,
test out different strategies of research-based instruction and support an
additional component of activity for the state's currently funded Community
Technology Centers program. Contact <mailto:sspence at sde.state.id.us>

Adult Health
Builder: Love A Pet

Here's something for health literacy professionals that could help adult
learners. Consistent research findings link pets with enhanced physical,
mental and emotional well being in adults, the Washington Post reports.
Recent studies confirm pet owners have lower blood pressure and cholesterol
levels than folks without pets. Purdue University researchers found people
experienced significant declines in blood pressure after watching fish in an
aquarium for just 20 minutes. An earlier University of Maryland study
following heart patients found pet owners actually outlived their pet-less
counterparts. Dogs were excluded to be sure dog-walking exercise wasn't
causing the disparity. Patients with iguanas, fish and gerbils did just as
well.  See
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54318-2002Jun3.html 

____________________________________________________________________________
___________________
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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