To obtain practitioner input on the research agenda for adult basic education (ABE), practitioner leaders from the Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PRDN) conducted nine focus groups with ABE practitioners in their states. The focus groups examined three topics: issues that concern practitioners in ABE; ways practitioners see their concerns being addressed by current and future research; and the PRDN's role. Overall, the practitioners in ABE were looking for answers and stepping stones to improve ABE practice. They expected research to address their concerns and were generally anxious to work with researchers in designing and conducting studies that address their concerns. The following were among the practitioner concerns identified: student recruitment, retention, and motivation; program and policy (program structure and funding); curriculum and instruction; assessment of student and program performance; "special" students' needs; staff issues and professional development; impact of ABE on students' lives outside the classroom; and ways of working with a variety of learners in one class. (Appended are the following: focus group protocol; tables detailing the focus group participants by state and number of affinity diagram items by state; questions for the research agenda; and categories of issues of concern to focus group participants.) (MN)