Inferencing skills uniquely contribute to the reading comprehension skills of older grade-school and college students. Evidence also suggests that children's reading component skills, such as decoding and language comprehension, differentially contribute to various reading comprehension assessments. However, additional research is needed to…

Prisons across the United States of America are faced with finding ways to reduce illiteracy rates across adult education. One strategy is to offer reading programs that are based on the science of reading. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine if adults in treatment groups across five midwestern correctional institutions who received a…

The present study explored the reading skills of a sample of 48 adults enrolled in a basic education program in northern Florida, United States. Previous research has reported on reading component skills for students in adult education settings, but little is known about eye movement patterns or their relation to reading skills for this…

Alternative education programs can prevent disparities in academic outcomes among marginalized youth. This descriptive study examines the results of an alternative education program with nondiscrimination policies and staff training related to supporting the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Secondary analysis of…

The differential treatment of youth of color in schools perpetuates disparities in academic outcomes. Alternative education programs may represent a constructive approach to preventing or mitigating these disparities. This study examines the outcomes of an urban alternative education program in the United States. Secondary analysis of demographic,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the joint and unique contributions of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge at five reading comprehension levels in adult basic education (ABE) students. We introduce the statistical technique of multiple quantile regression, which enabled us to assess the predictive utility of morphological…

The present study explored the reading skills of a sample of 48 adults enrolled in a basic education program in northern Florida, United States. Previous research has reported on reading component skills for students in adult education settings, but little is known about eye movement patterns or their relation to reading skills for this…

This study examined the effects of peer-mediated oral reading fluency instruction and narrative texts on the reading fluency and comprehension skills of adolescent struggling readers in an alternative high school setting over a period of 10 weeks. The results of this study indicate that peer-mediated repeated reading appears to be the most…

The Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council (GPLC) has made a strong commitment to professional development for its paid staff and ongoing training for its volunteers. During its 25-year history, GPLC has faced three challenges as it implemented its current staff development system. In this article, the author discusses these three challenges: (1)…

This paper reports on findings and implications from a two-year evaluation of the Minnesota STudent Achievement in Reading (STAR) Project. This long-term, job-embedded, professional development activity is provided for Minnesota Adult Basic Education (ABE) practitioners serving intermediate-level adult students reading between 4.0 to 8.9 grade…

Correctional educators, recognizing that the majority of inmates lack the math, reading, and language skills required to be successful in today's workplace, strive to equip offenders with the skills and abilities needed to find and maintain work on their release. However, most adult literacy programs in prisons fail to raise the gradelevel…

Shifting Gears was launched in 2007 by the Joyce Foundation, a Chicago-based organization focused on improving the quality of life of citizens residing in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The primary goal of Shifting Gears is to increase the number of low-skilled, low-income Midwestern adults who obtain college-level occupational…

Results of a study of methods for the remediation of incarcerated adult students basic skill deficiencies indicated that a program that integrates the Test of Adult Basic Education assessment and evaluation, an individual educational prescriptive curriculum, computer-aided instruction, and direct instruction by correctional facilitators is most…

The Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) and Tests of Adult Literacy Skills were used to place 168 adult literacy students into classes. The 37-minute TABE Locator Test predicted placements as well as or better than the full 3-hour TABE. Therefore, lengthy placement tests for four or fewer class levels may not be necessary. (SK)

Incarceration is an anxiety- and depression-inducing experience. These states are maximal at prison intake, when the offender is struggling to adjust to dramatic changes in daily life. At intake, offenders undergo a wide array of assessments, many of which determine the services and treatment that they will receive. In the Commonwealth of…