This exploratory study identified underlying skill and ability differences among subgroups of adolescent and young adult struggling readers (N = 290) overall and in relation to a fluency-based instructional grouping method. We used principal axis factoring of participants' scores on 18 measures of reading-related skills and abilities identified in…

In 1979, when the author began as an academic instructor at the Central Coast Adult School, located inside the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, California, he saw his teaching role in the traditional sense of imparting knowledge through the school's curriculum. Over time, however, his viewpoint changed as he came to recognize that the…

In adult education, algebraic thinking can be a sense-making tool that introduces coherence among mathematical concepts for those who previously have had trouble learning math. Further, a modeling approach to algebra connects mathematics and the real world, demonstrating the usefulness of math to those who have seen it as just an academic…

Much research has validated procedures to enhance reading fluency in children and adolescents, but more is needed to determine whether such procedures work with adults who have deficits in reading skills. A within-subjects design was used to evaluate and compare the effects of listening while reading (LWR) and repeated readings (RR) on reading…

Adult secondary education learners approach the goal of college-level postsecondary education through three assessment gateways: (a) measures of adult education program learning gains, (b) a high-school equivalency exam, and (c) college placement tests. On the surface, the assessments in this sequence might appear to work in concert and point…

This study explored the cognitive style of field dependence-independence (FDI) and its relation to student attrition and performance on the General Educational Development Test and the Test of Adult Basic Education. Resultant correlations are discussed in terms of the usefulness of FDI in assessing the needs of adult learners. (Author/SK)