The performance of higher education in New Mexico--measured by cost-efficiency, degree production, graduation rates, and a host of other metrics--remains exceptionally low in comparison with all but two or three other states. For most of the 2013 calendar year the Higher Education Department worked on various fronts to address the most pressing…

This newsletter, published five times a year, features articles on issues of concern to adult, family, and youth literacy practitioners, as well as recommended resources, announcements, and teaching strategies. (1) Creating a 21st Century Adult Literacy System (Martin C. Finsterbusch); (2) What Research Can Tell Us (Stephen Reder); (3) Skills the…

When discussing issues relating to students in General Educational Development (GED) Option and pre-GED programs with educators, the contention exists that it is possible to make reasonably accurate predictions on the success or failure of a student by observing a number of items. Looking at their cumulative records shows their academic and…

Although information and communication technologies have become an integral part of life in the United States, they have not yet been adequately integrated into adult language and literacy programs. This raises concerns because of the potential value of technology for enhancing learning and because of the vital role of technological proficiency as…

The Breaking Through (BT) initiative of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation seeks to prepare low-skilled adults, adult learners who are below college-level in reading, writing and/or mathematics, often lacking a high school diploma, and frequently low-income, to be successful in college and the labor market by strengthening and expanding policies…

For the past several years, the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges has conducted applied research to inform and develop policies for increasing educational attainment and narrowing educational disparities in the state. In 2004, the board used student unit record data systems to conduct a longitudinal tracking study of…

This study investigated informal learning activities among low-education adults, using data from the 2005 National Household Education Survey. Survey respondents were asked about their participation in six types of informal learning activities, from reading books to using computers to attending conventions. Respondents with the lowest educational…

It is widely assumed that ultimate attainment in adult second language (L2) learners often differs quite radically from ultimate attainment in child L2 learners. This article addresses the question of whether learners at different ages also show qualitative differences in the process of L2 acquisition. Longitudinal production data from two…

Student feedback is essential to improving the quality of instruction in higher education. This article chronicles the process by which an end-of-course reflection exercise was used to gather additional feedback from students and to determine learning outcomes in online course for adult learners. Students were given guiding questions for the…

In this brief article, the author talks about what--other than money--works to widen higher education (HE) participation for adult learners. He also discusses the problems in trying to discover what works to widen participation for adults. One problem is that the decision to participate in any formal learning episode, including HE, is not a simple…

Effective advocacy can help raise awareness about the issues of literacy and adult basic education, and can also have very tangible benefits. Over the past eight years, Dorcas Place Adult and Family Literacy Center (Providence, RI) has increased the number of students served from 100 to 1,100, increased the budget from $1.1 million to almost $3…

THESE WORKBOOKS, WHICH ARE USED IN THE ADULT BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM IN DANBURY, CONNECTICUT, PROVIDE TEACHING MATERIALS AND DRILL EXERCISES IN MULTIPLICATION. PART I CONTAINS MULTIPLICATION TABLES, PROBLEMS, AND DRILL INVOLVING THE NUMERALS TWO THROUGH NINE. PART II CONTAINS PROBLEMS AND DRILL EXERCISES USING THE NUMERALS TEN TO TWELVE, NUMBERS…

The document contains 27 stories selected for adults who are reading from the second grade to 3.5 grade level. The title of the story, its appropriate grade level, and the author's name are listed for each story. Included with each story are several content-oriented questions of varying formats. (AG)

THE AUTHOR BRIEFLY REVIEWS STUDIES AND REPORTS ON ADULT BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN LATIN AMERICA, WHERE IN MOST COUNTRIES AT LEAST 40 PERCENT OF THE ADULT POPULATION IS ILLITERATE. EDUCATION HAS BEEN RELATED TO NATIONAL ECONOMIES, HEALTH, AND SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PROBLEMS. NATIONAL BUDGETS FOR LITERACY PROGRAMS ARE GROWING AND IN SOME COUNTRIES…