Topics | Facts and Figures | State Grant Administration Resources

The Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL) promotes programs that help American adults get the basic skills they need to be productive workers, family members, and citizens. The major areas of support are Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English Language Acquisition. These programs emphasize basic skills such as reading, writing, math, English language competency, and problem-solving.

Adult education and literacy programs are funded through federal grants to the states. The amount each state receives is based on a formula established by Congress. States, in turn, distribute funds to local eligible entities to provide adult education and literacy services. Individuals and local providers cannot receive grant money directly from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE).

The Division provides assistance to states to improve program quality and capacity.

Topics

Five local ABE sites convene at OVAE on May 21 and 22, 2008 for the first national meeting of the ABE Career Connections project. MS Word (523KB) | PDF (108KB).
ABE practitioners from Blue Grass Community and Technical College in Lexington, Instituto del Progresso Latino in Chicago, Jewish Vocational Service in San Francisco, Madison Area Technical College in Madison (Wisconsin), and Montgomery County College in Wheaton (Maryland) are kicking off their 18-month demonstration project with a national meeting that will help the sites to focus their project goals and refine their action plans. OVAE awarded $75,000 to each site to enhance efforts to increase adults' access to postsecondary education by linking ABE to career pathways.

The Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), has announced the selection of six states that will participate in the second Standards-in-Action (SIA) pilot project. MS Word (525KB) PDF (107KB)
The six states include: Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia. Standards in Action is producing new training materials to improve the capacity of adult education programs to use content standards as guidelines for instructional practice and program improvement.

The Department of Education will launch a free, Web-based Portal to help immigrants learn English, and expand this model over time. Knowledge of English is the most important component of assimilation. An investment in tools to help new Americans learn English will be repaid many times over in the contributions these immigrants make to our political discourse.

For information on other topics in adult education and literacy, see also the following specific topic pages:

• Adult Secondary Education
• Content Standards and Assessment
• English Literacy
• English Literacy and Civics Education
• Family Literacy
• Health Literacy in Adult Education
• Mathematics in Adult Education and Literacy
• People with Disabilities
• Professional Development
• Reading
• Technology and Distance Learning
• Transitions to Postsecondary Education
• Work-Based Education

The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act provides the Department with funds to conduct national activities. OVAE uses these funds to conduct activities intended to promote the continuous improvement of adult education services. To learn more about these national activities, see OVAE Fact Sheet Series on National Activities

Additional Adult Education Related Links include relevant organizations and centers, useful resources, and journals or periodicals pertaining to adult education and literacy.

Bridges to Opportunity: Federal Adult Education Programs For the 21st Century A report to the President on Executive Order 13445. (PDF 2.36MB)

Facts and Figures

• The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) is a nationally representative assessment of English literacy among American adults age 16 and older. Sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), NAAL is the nation's most comprehensive measure of adult literacy since the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS).

• The U. S. Census Bureau provides information on basic educational trends and attainment levels across many segments of the U.S. population.

• Profiles of the Adult Education Target Population: Information from the 2000 Census, Revised December 2005:
  

  • Overview and National ProfilesPDF (192 KB)
  • Regional Profiles of the Adult Education Target Population PDF(247 KB)
  • State Profiles of the Adult Education Target Population PDF (2,498 KB)

• Program Year 2004-05 Report to Congress on State Performance The Congressional Report is an annual report to Congress on the status of the state administered grant program authorized under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). It includes data on the performance of adult education nationally and by state under the National Reporting System (NRS). It also contains data on student characteristics. MS Word (2.5MB) | PDF (2.1MB) Previous years

• Adult Education and Literacy: Helping Adults Become Literate fact sheet PDF (46 KB)

State Grant Administration Resources

• Legislation that authorizes adult education and literacy programs.
• Frequently Asked Questions on Adult Basic Education State Grant Administration MS Word (47 K).
• Budget information on Adult Basic Education State Grants (including allocation tables for State grants).
• The National Reporting System is the accountability system for federally funded adult education program. It includes student assessment measures, data collection methodologies, reporting forms, and program procedures.
• New Assessment Regulations issued on January 14, 2008 specify requirements for statewide assessment policies for the NRS that must contain certain elements and be submitted to and approved by OVAE each year. The regulations also describe how tests must be administered locally in order to accurately measure education gains.
• Changes to NRS Guidelines for Distance Learners summarizes the changes to the NRS Implementation Guidelines about distance learners that went into effect in June 2007.
• Division of Adult Education and Literacy Staff Directory.
• State Directors of Adult Education Directory.
• 2008 National Conference for Adult Education State Directors.