Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I am pleased to appear before you to discuss the programs and fiscal resources administered in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education that focus on high school and transition into the workforce. In these remarks, I will address the specifics of the Administration's budget request and the policy context in which those requests are made.

The important first step of the President's goal for the Federal role in elementary and secondary education was achieved in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This legislation marks a new era of education reform, and represents a significant change to Federal involvement in education. The legislation is built upon four key principles. First, a focus on achievement, particularly closing achievement gaps based on ethnicity and socio-economic status; second, a focus on what works—evidence-based practice; third, providing more flexibility and less regulation in the delivery of education, and; fourth, providing more options for parents and students. Through implementation of its four key principles, No Child Left Behind will stimulate change and improvement in our elementary and middle schools, and lay the foundation for transforming our high schools and improving transitions to the workplace.

Now, our goal is to ensure that these important principles that the President and the Congress have embraced are also reflected in efforts to improve dramatically the preparation of students in high schools and their transition to the workplace.

The Department's vocational and adult education programs are intended to help secondary schools provide effective career and technical education to prepare youth for postsecondary education and ensure that those students achieve to the same State academic standards as all other students in their schools. At the postsecondary level, these programs support students pursuing sub-baccalaureate vocational and technical education. The Federal investment in adult education gives older youth and adults opportunities to build their numeracy and literacy skills and complete their high school education. Under these programs, the Department of Education and the States have made significant progress in the last three years in establishing basic accountability systems and processes that are necessary for effective program management.

But, honestly, we have a long way to go. While my office and the States we partner with are fulfilling the letter of the law, I am not confident that we have captured the desired impact that Congress intended when it authorized and funded these programs. That is the challenge before us that I would like to address more fully.

The Challenge—High School Excellence

As you know, despite nearly 20 years of educational reform and innovation, millions of America's young adults leave high school without the knowledge and skills needed for success in either the workplace or postsecondary education.

Given current economic trends and projections, young adults will face advances in technology, information, and globalization unimaginable to earlier generations. In this "Knowledge Economy," demand for low-skilled, less-educated labor will increasingly give way to demand for high-skilled, well-educated workers. More companies will cross national boundaries and reconfigure the way that work is done. Good jobs—those with meaningful career paths and family-supporting incomes—will go to those with strong academic and technical skills, especially in math, science, and technology, and in the ability to reason, solve problems, and communicate effectively. Since employers who do not find skilled workers "at home" will look for them abroad, our Nation's future prosperity hinges on our ability to prepare our young people for success in the competitive international marketplace.

The challenge is clear; too many American high schools are failing to prepare their students for the future. Good schools do exist, but they continue to be the exception.

The Emerging Role of Postsecondary Institutions

Our postsecondary institutions will play an increasingly critical role in addressing this challenge. Because of population increases and increased college attendance rates, more American youth are enrolling in postsecondary education than ever before. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projections for 2010 indicate that 70 percent of the fastest growing jobs in the economy (e.g., computer support professionals, paralegals and legal assistants, and health occupations) will require some type of education and training beyond high school. Of these, 21 percent will require a bachelor's degree or higher. Yet, too many students are inadequately prepared to graduate, get a job, or advance to higher learning.

Community colleges have multiple missions—providing young people with their first college experience and retraining America's workforce. There are, among the Nation's 1,100 community colleges, many institutions that do not have the capacity to fulfill their potential in the areas of education, career preparation, and workforce development. Many State funding policies have evolved haphazardly over time and are not necessarily attuned to the needs of today's lifelong learner. There is difficulty in measuring the quality of community colleges, in large part because of the multiple missions they serve and the diversity of student goals and needs.

The Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Request

Vocational Education

The fiscal year 2003 request includes $1.3 billion for vocational and technical education programs, of which $1.18 billion is for vocational education State Grants, the same level as last year. These grants support career and technical education through curriculum development, teacher training, and the introduction of new technology, and student support services in high schools, community colleges, and regional vocational-technical institutes. Course-taking patterns of high school students indicate that vocational education is changing in many places—students are participating in vocational education not always to prepare for a specific career, but often to explore career options.

About 25 percent of high-school students "concentrate," or earn three or more credits, in a single occupational area. The program areas most frequently selected by these students are trade and industry, business, agriculture, technology and communications, and health care. Other program areas include marketing, personal and other services, childcare, and food service and hospitality. Another 18 percent of students earn three or more credits in multiple vocational areas. This segment of the student population has grown significantly over the past decade.

About 29 percent of today's jobs require some level of postsecondary education, but only a small percentage require a baccalaureate degree. For most students, obtaining a strong set of written and oral communication skills linked with specific technical skills through a training program or associate's degree can lead to gainful employment.

Our request for Tech-Prep Education is $108 million, the same as the previous year. This program supports consortia of high schools, colleges, and technical institutes to work with employers to create challenging programs of study in the academic and technical skills needed for technical careers. Tech-Prep, when implemented according to the law, provides students a very clear sequence and transition from high school to postsecondary education to employment. In managing this program, we intend to make sure that States are making local tech-prep grants that truly reflect the intent of the program.

Vocational education National Programs funds support research on effective programs and promote effective practice. The $12 million request for National Programs, the same level as last year, will support activities to help build and act on a stronger consensus about how career and technical education can contribute to improving high school academic achievement. With these funds, we are working to explore how technical programs at the postsecondary level can be closely linked to the needs of the labor market.

Adult Education and Family Literacy

To promote literacy, the fiscal year 2003 request includes $591 million for Adult Education. For adult education State Grants, the request includes $575 million (including $70 million for English Literacy and Civics Education Grants), the same as last year, to contribute to nationwide improvements in adult literacy and high school completion. Local programs, operated by schools, colleges, and community agencies, use funds to pay for instruction, course materials, teacher training, and new instructional technology. Some States use a portion of their adult education grants for family literacy programs to help build strong reading and other life skills. Local educational agencies receive slightly less than half of Federal adult education funds, community colleges receive 25 percent, community-based organizations receive 9 percent, and correctional institutions receive 5 percent. The remaining funds are awarded to other non-profit institutions, such as libraries, baccalaureate-granting institutions of higher education, and other providers. At least 75,000 parents in adult education programs participate in family literacy services each year.

Preparing limited English proficient individuals for the workplace and their lives in American society are an important and growing component of adult education services. Each State chooses how much of its adult education funds to spend on English literacy, relative to adult basic education and adult secondary programs. In recent years, the States that have experienced rates of growth in excess of 45 percent in English literacy enrollments include the District of Columbia, Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, Utah, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

The request for adult education National Leadership activities is level at $9.5 million. These funds will support continued data gathering so that we can better understand the scope of adult literacy among the U.S. population. The 1992 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAALS) indicated that approximately 90 million adults were reading at levels that were insufficient to participate in the economy fully and obtain new skills necessary for success. In 2002, an updated version of NAALS will be conducted, which will likely indicate that tens of millions of Americans continue to live with low literacy. Currently, our programs serve only about 2.7 million Americans each year. This demands two levels of response.

First, we need to make sure that current services are of the highest possible quality—reflecting the best-known research about adult learning and having a clear focus with specific objectives for each adult education class that is offered. This requires clear expectations, good curriculum and assessments, well-trained teachers, and an accountability system to measure and report on student and program success.

Second, we need to make a broader array of services available to adult learners who are currently not accessing learning. That is why we are developing national activities around the role of workplace education, community and faith-based organizations as providers of rigorous training on research-based practices to volunteer tutors, and the use of libraries and technology-enabled learning to supplement the role of a well-trained adult education teacher. In cooperation with States and the private sector, we are looking for ways to connect multiple systems and resources together in a way that will improve program effectiveness and serve more adults.

The request also includes $6.6 million for the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL). NIFL fosters innovation and collaboration in order to build and strengthen national, regional, and State literacy infrastructures, and promotes consensus in the field on strategies to increase the resources for, access to, and quality of adult literacy services.

Promoting Accountability

The 1998 reauthorization of the vocational and adult education statutes included accountability requirements focusing on student achievement. The Workforce Investment Act established an incentive grant program for States that exceed their performance targets in each of the three major programs. The efforts in developing effective State accountability systems are very important. These current accountability systems are necessary, but they are not sufficient.

One of Secretary Paige's key strategies for the Department of Education is that we move beyond a "culture of compliance to a culture of results." An accountability system is only worthwhile if it is measuring the right things, and if the data it produces are actually being used by teachers and administrators to improve quality. We are working to ensure that data are driving needed change in these programs so that they better serve students. And, as we approach the reauthorization of these programs, we will make further recommendations about how to improve these fledgling accountability systems, including addressing what we should measure.

Looking Forward to Preparing America's Future

The Office of Vocational and Adult Education is now working to build on the No Child Left Behind Act by developing policy recommendations for improvements in high schools, community colleges, and adult learning centers. Our goal is to create incentives and opportunities for State and local reform efforts focusing on: (1) preparing every American youth to complete high school and be well-prepared for postsecondary education and employment; (2) supporting community and technical colleges to fulfill their potential in the areas of education, career preparation, and workforce development; and (3) expanding adult learning to bring higher levels of literacy and English fluency to millions of underserved Americans.

This effort comes at a critical time as Congress prepares to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, and the Higher Education Act.

Conclusion

As President Bush aptly notes, "?education is a national priority?and a local responsibility." Success in improving our Nation's high schools and preparing our students will require a new, transformed Federal role, as well as the leadership and engagement of millions of Americans responsible for education at the State and local levels.

I want to express how enthusiastically ready we are to work with all Americans to develop this next wave of reform on behalf of America's youth and adults. It is a matter of highest importance to America's security, her historic ideals, and our future.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.

This page last modified—August 2, 2006.