A third-party national evaluation of the basic grants section of the Adult Education Act was conducted in September 1990. The study drew on data from the following sources: 1990 mail survey of all federally supported local service providers; longitudinal study of local programs that provided information on the characteristics of more than 22,000 adults enrolled in local programs from April 1991 to April 1992; and telephone survey of a subsample of nearly 6,000 clients 6 months after they left the program. The samples were weighted to make them nationally representative. The program was serving between 2.6 and 3.2 million clients annually (approximately 46% in English-as-a-Second-Language programs, 30% in adult secondary education, and 24% in adult basic education). The program was credited with improving clients' reading, employment, and self-concept levels. Its population was increasing by about two-thirds more than its capacity. Appendixes constituting approximately 50% of this report include the following: table detailing the study objectives and reports where they are addressed; telephone survey instrument; information on sample design, data collection, and standard errors; persistence tables; methodology of the learning gains study; and 35 selected updated tables from second interim report. Contains 54 tables/figures and 33 references. (MN)