No subject

more voters among the latter than the former, and this includes the
millions of adults who have been and are enrolled as students in the
Adult Education and Literacy System of the United States.  

Given the apparent paucity of "adult literacy experts, " defined as
someone who has demonstrated in a scientifically sound, evidence-based
manner that he or she has actually improved an existing adult literacy
program somewhere, policy makers who are elected officials will probably
be much more receptive to and influenced by the voices of the millions
of non-expert, former students who are also taxpayers and voters. 

That is why adult literacy advocates should strengthen their efforts on
behalf of VALUE and other student-based organizations.  They should
leave the search for scientifically sound, evidence-based improvements
in adult literacy education to the much smaller and generally less
politically effective handful of adult literacy researchers who use the
small amounts of adult literacy research money on overhead costs for
large universities, underpayment of graduate students, most of whom are
unprepared as scientists in any field, and the publication of numerous,
largely unread, reports and journal articles. 

Unfortunately, too many researchers publish work in which they try to
show how their research results can lead to the improvement of adult
literacy education everywhere, without showing in any scientifically
sound, evidence-based manner that they have actually improved adult
literacy education somewhere.  Perhaps the new focus on scientific,
evidence-based research will change all this. Perhaps not.

Meanwhile, the NLA list can continue seraching for adult literacy
experts. Are there any out there?