Research and Evaluation | Noteworthy Practices | Additional Links

The role of adult basic education (ABE), as a bridge to further education and training, is central to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education's (OVAE) vision for adult education and is an emerging view in the field. Most ABE participants have the goal of obtaining a GED certificate or a high school diploma, entering employment, or enhancing their skills as family and community members. However, as the skills and education required by adults to obtain employment and maintain a living wage have increased, ABE programs have begun to encourage adult learners to access postsecondary education to increase their opportunities for success in work and in life. The transformation of ABE programs to include transition services to enable ABE graduates to prepare for, enter, and succeed in postsecondary education is an iterative process that requires new instruction, improved services, and collaborative relationships with other agencies and organizations.

Research and Evaluation

• A Cross-Case Analysis of Career Pathway Programs that Link Low-Skilled Adults to Family-Sustaining Wage Careers (2007) PDF (1.2M).
  The overarching research question for this study was: what programs, policies, curricular practices, institutional and support strategies are being implemented to support the transition of low-skilled adults through career pathways that align with postsecondary career and technical education?

• Adult Education and Postsecondary Education and Postsecondary Success (2007) PDF (350K).
  This Policy Brief compares the long-term postsecondary education outcomes of GED holders to those of their counterparts who have received a high school diploma or who lack a high school credential. The author makes recommendations for expanding the adult education system with the goal of college readiness and success in mind.

• Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students: Lessons for Community College Policy and Practice from a Longitudinal Student Tracking Study (2005) examines the unique experiences and the educational and employment outcomes of adults who enter community college with limited education.

• I-BEST: A Program Integrating Adult Basic Education and Workforce Training (2005) PDF (232K).
  The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges' Offices for Adult Basic Education and Workforce Education supported ten demonstration projects pairing ESL and professional-technical instructors in the classroom to concurrently provide students with literacy education and workforce skills.

• The New England ABE-To-College Transition Project Evaluation Report (2005) PDF (800K)
  Looks at the experiences of its program participants and examines the outcomes of the project. The evaluation included quantitative and qualitative analyses of data gathered from participating students and programs.

• Return to Learning: Adults' Success in College is Key to America's Future (2007) PDF (6.4M).
  A report released by the Lumina Foundation for Education, calls for colleges to, among other things, provide more convenient and affordable access for adult learners and to work to get older students out of non-credit programs and into courses that lead to degrees and certificates.

• Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic Education Program Models (2006) PDF (267KB). The New England Literacy Resource Center surveyed adult education centers with transitions components to capture and categorize emerging models of ABE-to-college transition programs.

Noteworthy Practices

• Adult Basic Education to Community College Transitions Symposium Proceedings Report (2007). This publication recaps an OVAE-sponsored symposium held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14, 2006, that recognized the importance of adult learners and the needs they present as they pursue college and careers. Nationally recognized adult education experts shared their ideas about how to help adult learners transition successfully to postsecondary education and employment. PDF (2.01MB)

• The Adult Basic Education Career (ABE) Connections project (2007). An OVAE-sponsored project that will demonstrate how ABE programs can operate within career pathways to prepare students for postsecondary courses leading to a degree or occupational certificate targeted toward an industry important to a regional economy PDF (108KB)

• Breaking Through: Helping Low Skilled Adults Enter and Succeed in College and Careers. Sixteen community colleges in 12 states are participating in this multi-year initiative to increase the number of low-skilled adults who enter and complete degree programs in community and technical colleges.

• The National College Transition Network features resources for program planners, teachers, counselors, researchers, and policy-makers interested in college transitions for ABE students. Provides information on developing transition services, recruiting and assessing potential students, and building relationship with colleges.

• Opening Doors demonstration sites are testing various combinations of innovations in curriculum and instruction, supplementary financial aid, and student support services to address high rates of attrition among low-income community college students and the shortage of reliable evidence about which strategies are effective in improving student retention.

Additional Links

• Bridges to Careers for Low-Skilled Adults: A Program Development Guide (2005) PDF (717K) provides concrete guidance on how to develop and implement "bridge programs" that help adult students improve their basic skills and succeed in college.

• The Florida GED PLUS College Preparation Program is designed to help adult students to earn their GED credential with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be successful in college and careers. Includes a program implementation guide and curriculum resources.

• Helping Adult Learners Make the Transition to Postsecondary Education (2005) PDF (101K) discusses the challenges ABE programs must address to develop and implement transition services, provides examples of emerging efforts, and discusses the implications of this transformation for policy and practice.

• Improving Lives: State and Federal Programs for Low-Income Adults. Provides an overview of programs that affect low-income adults and their ability to enroll and succeed in postsecondary education. Includes detailed descriptions of programs selected as exemplars of effective state and federal policy.

For Additional Information:

Ronna Spacone
U.S. Department of Education
Division of Adult Education and Literacy
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-7240