An experimental study compared the effectiveness of a traditional General Educational Development (GED) curriculum with a literacy curriculum based on applied literacy skills. An experimental group of 34 adult students received GED instruction emphasizing functional and workplace contexts and supplemental instruction, whereas the 35 students in the control group received instruction based on a traditional GED curriculum. Fourteen students from each group completed the training programs. No major differences between the experimental and control group members' test performance, retention, or success in meeting their stated goals were found. A second objective of the study was to determine the validity of the Educational Testing Service's Tests of Applied Literacy Skills (TALS) as a predictor of GED performance. A regression analysis of the students' pre-GED course scores on the TALS did not reveal any correlation between the students' performance in a GED program and their performance on the TALS. The study findings were concluded to be tentative at best given the small sample size and variable of two instructors. (Appended are data summaries and statistical analyses, an outline of the applied literacy curriculum, and student follow-up survey.) (MN)