A literacy/basic skills training project, revised to allow for the realities of the economic recession in New England, successfully trained 590 employees and 364 unemployed men and women. Revised positive outcomes included employment in companies outside the eight original companies in the project, enrollment in higher-level education and skills…

The six articles in this issue tackle topics that relate to the role and function of numeracy in adult life. "Reading Comprehension in Written Mathematics Problems" (Sue Wareham) examines the levels of reading ability required of numeracy students and offers strategies to help students with limited reading skills. "Can Ordinary…

This publication contains two types of materials generated by the Second Iowa Adult Literacy Congress. Part I consists of summaries of four sessions during which the 40 delegates discussed and offered suggestions on 4 topics: leadership, changes in relationships, self-esteem, and literacy in the workplace. Part II presents special life stories of…

This report presents Iowa's performance indicators of program quality in adult basic education (ABE) programs and describes the process by which they were developed. The performance indicators fulfill the mandate of the National Literacy Act of 1991 to serve as indicators of program quality. They were developed through a comprehensive process that…

This report records the testimony presented by Clarence C. Crawford, Associate Director, Education and Employment Issues, Human Resources, of the General Accounting Office, on the effectiveness of Title IIA of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in meeting the employment and training needs of economically disadvantaged adults and youth. His…

This report briefly describes an intergenerational, interagency project in Lancaster and Lebanon counties of Pennsylvania. The project attempted to show that with training and group bonding, members of different generations reading preschool materials together for 8 weeks could change their attitudes and habits about reading in general and reading…

The Workplace Literacy Skills and Training Inventory was created as a needs assessment instrument to determine existing programs and services and current needs at workplace sites. Subjects were 64 representatives from businesses in Greene County, Ohio, randomly selected from the yellow pages. The framework for the inventory consisted of 16 skills…

A considerable body of evidence indicates that using technology simply to expand traditional adult literacy approaches and programs will not likely meet existing literacy needs, let alone the heightened expectations of the national literacy goal. One promising approach is to use home-based personal computers (PCs) equipped with modems and…

A cooperative effort was made by the Chamber of Commerce and the Adult and Community Education Program to encourage and facilitate work force literacy in small and medium-sized businesses, industries, and government agencies in Gadsden County, Florida. Businesses that could benefit were identified through a business/industry questionnaire. Six…

This study examines the history, development, and important characteristics of Project: LEARN, a community-based literacy program in Cleveland (Ohio). The program started in 1974 and is an affiliate of Laubach Literacy International. It has successfully used volunteer tutors to teach basic reading and writing skills to thousands of illiterate…

Mississippi loses up to one-third of its potential high school graduates between grades 9 and 12. Developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for student recruitment are the first and most important steps in organizing an adult basic education program to serve the needs of these individuals. Recruitment requires trying as many methods as…

This module is designed to enhance employees' problem-solving abilities by improving their communication skills. The module, which is designed to be presented by a single facilitator in six weekly sessions, focuses on three areas of communication: listening, discussing, and acting. Covered in the module sessions are the role of communication and…

This learning module is intended as a worksite-specific example of a curriculum that addresses the specific job-related language needs of nonnative speakers of English. The module, which is designed to be presented in three 10-week sessions, focuses on different parts of the work orders typically encountered by workers in two different departments…

This task analysis for positions at the ENRO shirt and tie manufacturing plant in Louisville, Kentucky, was developed to help teach English as a second language in order to improve communication in the workplace and prepare all employees for a total quality management model. The task analysis includes information about workers in the Raw…

Adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) is a complex undertaking that serves diverse learners with a variety of needs. Although no definitive list of adult education principles exists in the literature, the following principles have been identified in multiple sources devoted to principles of effective adult education: involve learners in…