Diploma and degree completion have become the fundamental standard for judging the performance of secondary and postsecondary educational institutions. Increasingly, leaders of education and workforce policy and programs assume that these measures of attainment effectively serve as indicators of adequate levels of essential literacy and numeracy…

The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) provides a wealth of information from multiple sources about the factors and circumstances related to the performance and social development of American high school sophomores as they enter and leave various levels of the education system. This First Look report draws upon ELS:2002 second…

This handbook, intended for General Educational Development Test (GED) examiners, was designed to cover many of the issues and problems unique to the GED testing program in California. Six chapters are included: (1) testing center authorization and responsibilities; (2) testing center staff; (3) testing fees and materials; (4) test administration;…

A study was done to investigate the relative success in higher education of students who had a high school diploma as compared to those who had not graduated from high school but rather completed a General Educational Development (GED) certification. A review of the literature on research of this question indicated that either there was no…

To combat their school dropout problems, Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools created an alternative high school for marginal and high risk students attending conventional high schools and for students who had already dropped out. Classes at North Education Center were scheduled from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and featured year-round, 42-day terms to…

Dropout rates reported by states and school districts are produced by a variety of accounting procedures. Since these rates are difficult to compare and interpret, they fail to correctly measure the dropout rate. A uniform definition of school dropout is needed. The degree of variation was examined by analyzing 21 local definitions. The five…

This technical report outlines the evaluation methodology used to conduct the 1984-85 High School Equivalency Programs/College Assistance for Migrant Programs (HEP/CAMP) National Evaluation Project, with special emphasis upon how this methodology might be adapted to meet evaluation requirements of local HEP and CAMP programs. Section 1 describes…

Many studies of dropouts have examined race, gender, ethnic background, and socioeconomic status as factors predisposing students to drop out of school. A study was conducted to examine the school-related factors influencing high school students' decision to drop out, as well as the attitudes of high school dropouts toward public education today.…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the item characteristics of the General Educational Development Tests (GED) for specific subgroups of students. The method employed was the approach suggested by Linn and Harnisch in which the three-parameter logistic model is used for detecting interactions between item content and group…

"Focus on Basics" is the quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. "Focus on Basics" is…

This Learning Resources Evaluation Manual (LREM) contains evaluations of 140 instructional products listed in the 1994 supplement to Virginia's Adult Education Curricula Resource Catalog. A table of contents lists topics/subjects and page numbers. Some titles that are useful under more than one category are cross-listed for easy reference. These…

This report covers the October 1987 educational and career postsecondary activities of the June 1987 graduates from 145 Connecticut local public high schools (136 comprehensive high schools, 6 alternative high schools, and 3 endowed and incorporated academies) and 105 nonpublic high schools, and the February 1988 activities of the June 1987…

In 1990, a follow-up study was conducted of former students from the Adult Basic Education (ABE) and General Educational Development (GED) programs in Washington community colleges to assess the impact of these programs on the students. Data were gathered from the Student Management Information System and from interviews with 182 students who left…

The 48 papers in this proceedings focus on aspects of non-formal adult education including international comparative adult education. The papers are: "Lifelong Learning in Perspective" (Knox); "Women in their Thirties: The In-Between Generation" (Caffarella, Freeman); "Development in Women: An Analysis of the…