<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 5.5.2654.45">
<TITLE>Thursday Notes, 1/3/02</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<P ALIGN=RIGHT><B><FONT COLOR="#008080" FACE="Arial">From the Desk of Ronald S. Pugsley, Director, DAEL</FONT></B></P>
<P ALIGN=RIGHT><B><FONT COLOR="#008080" FACE="Arial">Office of Vocational and Adult Education</FONT></B></P>
<P><B><I><FONT COLOR="#008000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Editor: Sarah Newcomb</FONT></I></B>
<BR><B><I><FONT COLOR="#008000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Production: Rose Tilghman</FONT></I></B>
</P>
<P><I><B><FONT COLOR="#008000" FACE="Arial">January 3, 2002</FONT> </B> </I>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#008080" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">___________________________________</FONT></B>
</P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">How Can Programs </FONT></B>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Keep Students Learning?</FONT></B>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">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: </FONT></P>
<UL><LI><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Individualized attention to students made possible by stable leadership, access to technology, solid financial support, and relatively small student populations;</FONT><B></B><B></B></LI>
<BR>
<LI><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Tailoring instructional methods to students' needs while maintaining an assessment system to measure learning gains;</FONT><B></B><B> </B></LI>
<BR>
<LI><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Strategies that accommodate students' cultural and personal identities, goals, and learning disabilities.</FONT><B></B><B></B></LI>
<BR>
</UL>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Funding by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation and the Department. For more, see<U> </U></FONT><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman"><A HREF="http://www.mdrc.org" TARGET="_blank">http://www.mdrc.org</A></FONT></U><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> Click the "education" header and scroll to</FONT><I> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">I Did It for Myself.</FONT></I></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Multi-State Project</FONT></B>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Assesses Graduation</FONT></B>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Requirements</FONT></B>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">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</FONT><U> <FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman"><A HREF="http://www.nga.org/center" TARGET="_blank">http://www.nga.org/center</A></FONT></U><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> Search for</FONT><I> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">American Diploma Project</FONT></I><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">.</FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Who Is An Adult?</FONT></B>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The definition of "adolescence" is creeping up--with some definitions as high as 26 or 34 years of age--according to the</FONT><I> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Washington Post</FONT></I><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">. 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</FONT><U> <FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman"><A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com</A></FONT></U><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> Click on</FONT><I> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Style</FONT></I><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> for 1/3/02.</FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">Shop Talk January 10 </FONT></B>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Due to the holiday this week, our "Shop Talk" will be held on January 10. Be sure to join us!</FONT><B></B><B></B>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">_______________________________________________________________________________________________</FONT>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><I><FONT COLOR="#008080" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">A Fact Sheet from the Division of Adult Education and Literacy</FONT></I></B></P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><I><FONT COLOR="#008080" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">Office of Vocational and Adult Education</FONT></I></B></P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B><I><FONT COLOR="#008080" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial">OVAE Homepage</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial"></FONT></I></B><B><I><U> <FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=1 FACE="Arial"><A HREF="http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/" TARGET="_blank">http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/</A></FONT></U></I></B><I></I></P>
<BR>
</BODY>
</HTML>