Childhood education affects how individuals adapt to the challenges of adulthood. Although various generalizations are made relating childhood educational experiences to characteristics of adults, there is scant evidence to support those assertions for adult literacy learners in the United States. This study investigates the relationship of…

Statistical analyses of data from an academically diverse sample of 276 adult basic and secondary education learners extends understanding of the relation of and interactions between oral reading fluency and reading competence indices. Significant interactions between total word rate and word error rate that differed in relation to two measures of…

This tenth edition of the best-selling book teaches reading using sounds and spelling patterns. These sounds and patterns are introduced one at a time, and slowly built into words, syllables, phrases, and sentences. Simple step-by-step directions begin every lesson. Although originally designed for K-2 emergent readers, this award-winning book is…

Since the 1980s, educators in adult basic education and special education have speculated that a substantial if unknown percentage of adults have specific learning disabilities (LDs) and have sought to identify and address effectively the needs of these learners. Two rarely intersecting bodies of historical literature on LDs provide the background…

Accommodating adult basic education (ABE) learners with learning disabilities (LD) is common practice across many instructional, testing, and work settings. However, the results from this literature search indicate that very few empirically based studies are available to support or reject the effectiveness of a great deal of accommodation…

Low literacy levels in adult learners pose an educational and public health challenge to practitioners and the scientific community. Increasing demands placed on literacy can limit opportunities in the workplace and access to health-related resources, negatively affecting public health. Current estimates from the National Center for Education…

The attitudes of adult basic education faculty members toward teaching adults with learning disabilities are likely to influence the success of their students; however, there are no existing survey instruments that measure this construct or the practical knowledge faculty members should have to effectively serve the population. A new survey…

Adults with learning disabilities (LD) attending adult basic education, GED programs, or community colleges are among the lowest performers on measures of literacy. For example, on multiple measures of reading comprehension, adults with LD had a mean reading score at the third grade level, whereas adults without LD read at the fifth grade level.…

Ms. K. has attended ABE (Adult Basic Education) classes for almost one year and has had significant difficulty in making progress in reading. She has passed some of the GED tests, but has struggled with others due to having insufficient time to complete them. She currently works as a teacher's aide in a daycare center. Her goal is to pass the GED…

From 1999 to 2005, the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) did an annual review and synthesis of adult literacy research. This did not continue due to reallocation of federal education funds. To fill a portion of the gap left by NCSALL's departure, this adult literacy literature review analyzes and synthesizes the…

The following insights into the reading skills of 312 participants in adult basic and secondary education programs are based on a principal components analysis of reading components' contributions to variance in reading comprehension. Overall, 75% of variance was explained by four composite variables representing word skills, language…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify ways to improve learner persistence in General Equivalency Diploma (GED) programs in the U.S. The participants in this multiple case study were GED instructors and adults without high school diplomas who were enrolled in two GED programs were located in the Southern and Southwestern U.S.…

This edition of "'LINCS' Resource Collection News" features the Program Management Collection, which covers the topics of Assessment, Learning Disabilities, and Program Improvement. Each month Collections News features one of the three "LINCS" (Literacy Information and Communication System) Resource Collections--Basic Skills, Program Management,…

This study of 311 adult education learners found 29% self-reported having a specific learning disability (SLD). Significant differences in demographic, academic, and life experience variables between the adult learners with and without SLD included prior participation in special education, having both an SLD diagnosis and a high school diploma,…

The extant literature offers little to describe the processes for screening students in adult basic education (ABE) programs for potential learning disabilities, referring adult students for diagnostic assessment, or barriers to obtaining diagnostic assessment for a learning disability. Without current documentation of a learning disability, ABE…