The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn from the perspectives of adult secondary learners (ASLs) and transition navigators (TNs) regarding how K--12 adult education programs serve ASLs as they prepare to transition to community college. In this study, ASLs are defined as adult students working towards their high school diploma or…

Started in 1942, the GED test provides people a high school equivalency diploma to gain new career and educational goals. While many GED recipients state they wish to earn a college credential, few earn one, often dropping out before their second semester of college. To increase the number of GED recipients and their career and college…

Adult education's mission is a critical one. It seeks to provide the large and diverse population of adults who lack basic skills, a high school credential, or English language skills with the competencies they need to be productive workers, family members, and citizens. Federally funded adult education serves learners in three types of programs:…

Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 directs the federal government to conduct a national assessment of adult education, including activities to understand the extent to which adult education strategies positively affect learners. A systematic review of the research on the effectiveness of particular strategies in adult…

In 2004, Boston Public Schools reported that more than 8% of its students dropped out of school that year. The city faced a crisis. Thousands of students were failing to earn a high-school diploma, a necessary credential for entrance into postsecondary education and/or the twenty-first century workforce. Factors driving students' decisions to…

YouthBuild is intended to help high school dropouts, ages 16 to 24, who face an array of impediments to their educational and employment success as they progress into adulthood. Stemming from one program launched in the late 1970s, today over 270 YouthBuild programs operate nationwide. YouthBuild is a principles-based model that values a…

As globalization and technological change remake the labor market, it has become increasingly clear that the United States must create better educational and workforce training programs if we are to remain competitive. In order to help disadvantaged and low-skilled workers advance in the new labor market, educational opportunities are needed that…

Dan Bloom of MDRC examines policies and programs designed to help high school dropouts improve their educational attainment and labor market outcomes. So called "second-chance" programs, he says, have long provided some combination of education, training, employment, counseling, and social services. But the research record on their effectiveness…

The Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title II, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act provides funding for states and territories to provide instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) to adults in need of these literacy services. California State Budget Act language…

For over 2 years, Blak Hawk College (Illinois) has provided high school equivalency (GED) candidates and recipients, older returning students, and underprepared high school graduates with a Tech Prep curriculum to give them the skills to make the transition from adult basic education to college or work. The Adult Tech Prep (ATP) core curriculum…

To provide transition opportunities for adult education students while preparing them for their General Educational Development (GED) test, Austin Community College (ACC) developed a program called GED Plus. A variety of information sources, including orientation sessions, brochures, telephone inquiries, and site visits to partner agencies, were…

In its fifth and final year of federal funding, the Vocational and High School Equivalency Program at New York's Park West High School served 254 students in grades 9-12. The program's purpose was to help students of limited English proficiency develop English language skills while receiving occupational training after school. The transitional…

Project SUCCESS, a combined bilingual education and college/career orientation program for Spanish speaking and Asian high school students of limited English proficiency, is described in this report. Located at Theodore Roosevelt High School in New York City, the program, in 1980-81, provided courses in English as a second language, English…

In 1982-83, this program provided instruction in English as a Second Language and bilingual instruction in four content areas to 1,690 Spanish, Chinese, Haitian, Greek, and Italian students of limited English proficiency (LEP) at eight daytime and eight evening learning centers located at 15 different sites throughout New York City. Created in…

The Quick Start Training Program is a transitional program that was developed to help the homeless population of El Paso, Texas, become self-sufficient through short-term vocational skills training. The program's occupational training component was designed to meet local training needs and was supplemented with activities to give participants…