To guide designers developing open education resources for adults preparing for a high school equivalency exam, we developed six authentic personas that represented adults without high school diplomas. Our goal was to assist open education resources designers to develop empathy toward their learners and place themselves in their learners' shoes.…

This is an excerpt from "Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education" (The New Press, 2012). It concludes that GED programs need more resources, not less. The programs tend to be populated by low-to-modest income people who failed school the first time around and now are considered less worthy of investment. GED…

Sokolowski (2000) summarized the phenomenological attitude by saying, "We look at what we normally look through" (p. 50). Through interviews and document analysis, this study looked at the lives of six students and their decision to return to their education to earn a high school diploma. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how…

At no time in recent history has the importance of adult education been greater and the funding more threatened. Despite the fact that as many as 93 million adults in the U.S. may need basic skills services to improve their economic prospects, funding for these services is stagnating at the federal level and being slashed in statehouses and state…

The economic and employment outlook for individuals without a high school diploma is bleak. For many of these individuals, passing the General Educational Development (GED) Test is the first step in competing in the increasingly demanding job market. GED test-taking policies vary across test centers and jurisdictions, and have the potential to…

This guide contains an annotated bibliography of 107 resources for: (1) Basic 0-4; (2) Adult Basic Education; (3) English as a Second Language; (4) pre-General Educational Development Test; (5) General Educational Development Test; and (6) workplace programs published since 1986. It also contains a listing of job-specific workplace curriculum and…

Two case studies of adult GED (General Education Diploma) students and their kindergarten-aged children are presented. The construct of "capital," as described by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), is applied specifically to the children's and adults' reading practices. These case studies are analyzed in terms of various forms of official…

Based on research and teacher experience, this resource guide contains teaching methods and activities that teachers can use in teaching mathematics to adult basic education and General Educational Development students. The following eight sections are included: (1) an alternative method for teaching percents; (2) unit conversion or dimensional…

This document is a 596-item list of books, papers, journal articles, dissertations, and other materials concerning the General Educational Development (GED) tests. Topics covered include postsecondary educational outcomes for GED completers, military aspects of the GED program, scoring GED tests, test norms, benefits of participation in the GED…

An instructors' manual describing the "Write-Now" approach to teaching writing to adult students preparing for the General Educational Development (GED) test together with a final report describing the project that developed the manual is presented. Topics covered in the 16 chapters of the manual include the following: what we believe…

This training manual contains background information about the 1988 General Educational Development (GED) test, ideas for teaching and assessing writing to prepare students for the test, and samples of classroom materials teachers can use. Sections include information on the following: the writing process; student writing; managing the…

This guide was developed to provide adult education teachers in Arkansas with a listing of competencies correlated with appropriate materials at each level. The guide helps teachers select materials to individualize student instructional plans. It provides a variety of alternatives such as books, workbooks, software, video, and suggested reading…

This packet, designed for teachers of Job Corps participants is intended to familiarize them with the contents and presentation methods of the competency program developed to help students prepare for the General Educational Development (GED) (high school equivalency) tests. The first part of the package contains a teacher's guide that presents an…

This document was developed as a resource for teacher trainers and adult educators who are teaching writing to adults. It has been designed to provide suggested intended learning outcomes, instructional strategies, and resources in an easy-to-use format. Most of the document is a chart that lists 10 intended learning outcomes, with parallel…

This resource manual has been developed to assist both case managers and management staff in implementing a case management system as an infrastructure for delivering services that will facilitate the positive growth and development of youth and the achievement of individual and organizational performance goals. (The goal of case managers is to…