[NLA] Peparing America's Future

[Thomas Sticht]

In attempting to understand what might be done to overcome the large drop
in enrollments in the AELS from 1997-98 to 99-00, I searched the Education
Department’s web site for the Office for Vocational and Adult Education.
While searching the site I came across a paper outlining directions  the
OVAE aims to take to "improve and expand" adult education services. I was
particularly interested in the part related to "expand", given the recent
loss of some 1.2 million enrollees. It may be of interest to NLA list
members to have a look at how the ED/OVAE is planning to go about working
to improve the AELS and to have a chance to discuss these ideas. What
follows  are apparently the talking points for a presentation and I don’t
know the date of this talk. But it would have to be within the last 12
months after the new Asst. Sec. for ED/OVAE took over. I'm wondering to
whaat extent the activities presented will actualling "enhance the quality
of Adult Education and Family Literacy." And how will we know?Tom Sticht


(Extracted from): Preparing America’s Future
Enhancing the Quality of Adult Education and Family Literacy

Hans Meeder
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education

(Note: introductory material omitted and the following takes up about
midway through the report,)
 OVAE Activities to Improve and Expand Adult Education Services

National Reporting System Refinements and Training
o Ongoing review of data items and quality of data within the National
Reporting System.o Coordination with state and local program administrators to improve the
measures.o Professional development of state and local programs to use data for
reporting AND for program improvement.
Identify Effective Practices in Reading in Adult Education and Family
Literacyo Collaborative of NICHD, OVAE and NIFL.
o Rigorous, random-assignment methodology to test various educational
approaches for increasing reading comprehension and fluency among adults
in adult education and family literacy programs.o Request for applications has been published; applicant workshops being
held around the country.
National Assessment of  Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2002 Household Survey

o Purpose -- provide a nationally representative and continuing assessment
of English language literacy skills of American adults.o Data will be correlated to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey.
o The NAAL seeks to:
o Describe the status of adult literacy in the U.S.
o Report on national trends
o Identify relationships between literacy and selected characteristics of
adults.
Impact Study of Effective ABE Programs/Practices
o Examine the instructional techniques and strategies that correlate to
improved reading achievemento How much reading improvement is there among first-level learners?
o What are the characteristics of first-level adult learners compared to
reading improvement?o How do program operator decisions  relate to the amount of improvement
in reading skills or reading-related behaviors among first-level learners?
ESL Impact Study
o Measure the employment earnings impact of participation in English as a
Second Language programs for adults.o Discover how ESL participation affects short and medium-term employment
earnings
Work-based Learning  Research and Evaluation
o Examine work-based learning  --
– its scope
– the skills that employees actually gain
– investment needed by employers
– emerging models of work-based learning, and
– how federal and state policies impact employer training and education
decisions.
Review of International Adult Learning Policies and Practices
o International literacy surveys do not focus on "why" adults are more or
less literate.o Create series of reports on practice and policy in countries with
advanced or developing adult learning systems -- European and Asian
nations.
Adult Learning Futures Project
o 12-18 month comprehensive review of how American adults currently access
learning -- basic adult education services, English acquisition programs,
family-literacy programs, work-based learning, skills training through
post-secondary education, and advanced higher education.o ALF Will support and inform future efforts at reauthorization of the
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act.
Adult Learning Research to  Practice Partnership
o Develop user-friendly resources, dissemination processes, and
professional development models.o Ensure that research findings inform practice and policy, and –
o practice and policy guide and inform research.
o Involve all levels and players in adult education systems – federal,
state and local administration, teacher professional development,
supporting organizations.
Learning for the Future Community Partnerships
o Foster the expansion of adult learning, targeted to low-literate adults.
o Engage Community-based organizations, Faith-based organizations,
libraries and businesses.o Support adult learning through the coordinated efforts of trained
volunteers linked to formal services offered through schools and community
colleges.o Develop model training resources, implementation guides, and lessons
learned guides that can be broadly adopted by other communities.
Discussion and Questions
o What are the greatest needs to improve  adult education services in
family literacy programso Are family literacy programs recognized & supported by adult education
program directors?o What state and/or federal policies are most helpful?
o What state and/or federal policies are most problematic?

Preparing America's Future
For more information:
Hans Meeder
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education

C/o Peggy Zelinko
Peggi.zelinko at ed.gov
202-205-5451




_______________________________________________
NLA mailing list: NLA at lists.literacytent.org
http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/nla
LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
http://literacytent.org