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Statement by
Patricia W. McNeil
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education
on
Fiscal Year 1998 Request for
Vocational and Adult Education and School-to-Work Opportunities Programs
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the fiscal year 1998 budget request for Vocational and Adult Education and School-to-Work Opportunities. These investments help high schools, community colleges, and adult education programs provide all students the academic and technical skills they need to succeed as workers, family members, citizens, and lifelong learners. They are important components of the Nation's investment in education for the 21st century.
We are all well aware of the changing skill demands in our society and economy brought on by technology, global competition, and changes in production techniques and the organization of work. These societal and economic challenges force us to rethink our entire education system -- who it teaches, what it teaches, and how it teaches. No longer can an individual who has not completed high school, or a student who has completed high school without meeting challenging standards, begin on a career path that will lead to a comfortable middle-class life style. Postsecondary education is becoming a basic requirement in the job market. For these reasons, President Clinton has called for all children reading independently and well by the end of third grade, all students knowing algebra by the end of eighth grade, and all students prepared for and having access to college by the age of 18. They are also why he has called on States and communities to develop high standards and good assessments, connect schools and students to technology, promote strong and safe schools, and support good teachers in every classroom.
Our educational institutions have been responding to the challenges of the information age. More students are going to college than ever before, taking advanced placement courses, using computers, using advanced technical equipment in vocational courses, and getting GEDs. But this is not enough. Our schools and literacy programs need to change much more rapidly and dramatically in order to close the gap between what they teach and the knowledge and skills youth and adults need to be successful in the 21st century. The Administration's request for $400 million for School-to-Work and $1.6 billion for Vocational and Adult Education will support the Nation's progress toward this goal.
The School-to-Work Opportunities Act is helping States and communities create comprehensive systems to assist students moving from high school to careers or postsecondary education and training. Its purpose is to provide venture capital -- seed money -- to States and communities to help them establish those comprehensive systems. Currently, all States have received planning grants and 37 States have 5-year implementation grants. In addition, in 1996, there are 29 local partnership grants, 53 urban/rural grants, and 18 grants for native American students. We will be making additional new grants with 1996 funds. Just in the 11 States that already have complete data on schools, about a half-million students, 1,800 schools, and 135,000 businesses are engaged in school-to-work systems.
School-to-work is helping build partnerships among business, labor organizations, community leaders, parents, and educators to improve the education of both in-school and out-of-school youth. One key feature of School-to-Work is the opportunity for young people to spend time at a work-site learning about a variety of career options and the academic and technical skills needed to pursue those options. Students at the worksite also learn about problem-solving, the responsibilities of work, the importance of communication skills, and working effectively with others. Students have adult mentors who support them in their learning. Their classroom learning is linked to their workplace learning to reinforce the connections and the relevance between what goes on in school and what will be required of them later in life.
Vocational Education State Grants, for which we have requested $1.0 billion, enable States, local educational agencies, and postsecondary institutions to improve vocational and technical education. These funds support curriculum development, teacher training, the introduction of new technology, and student support services in high schools, community colleges, and regional vocational-technical institutes. In addition, we have requested $105 million for Tech-Prep Education, an increase of $5 million over the 1997 appropriation. Tech-prep supports consortia of high schools, colleges, and technical institutes that work together to ensure that high school students gain the academic and technical skills needed for new and emerging careers and make smooth transitions to college. These consortia also ensure that students have the opportunity to take college classes while still in high school and that they do not have to make up course work in college.
Together, these three investments are helping States and communities make some very important changes in the way high schools, community colleges, and technical institutes teach students and the results that they achieve. All three investments are enhancing academic achievement for all students. In addition, the vocational education basic grant has encouraged a redesign of vocational education for the future, especially at the high school level. Tech-prep has been especially important in building strong partnerships between secondary and postsecondary educators in pursuit of more successful schools. School-to-work has emphasized the importance of all students learning about the wide variety of career opportunities and having a chance to learn skills and experience a variety of careers in the workplace. It has created a framework to bring business and schools together in pursuit of educational excellence for in-school and out-of-school youth.
As communities search for ways in which they can make their K-12 schools more effective, they are using these resources in very creative ways. Because a significant percentage of Vocational Education State Grants, Tech-Prep activities, and School-to-Work efforts are in the secondary schools, we have been looking at how communities are using these Federal investments to improve student achievement at the high school level. With the help of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, we identified about 50 schools that we call "new American high schools." They represent the range of public education in the country: large comprehensive high schools, charter schools, vocational-technical centers, and magnet schools. These schools are committed to high academic standards for all students and to ensuring that all their students have the knowledge and skills to pursue postsecondary education. They provide the opportunity for all students to explore careers, do community or work-based learning, use technology to enhance learning, and create safe, supportive learning environments for their students. They also stress parental involvement, have strong business partnerships, and work closely with postsecondary institutions. These schools have seen test scores go up, dropout rates come down, and postsecondary enrollment rates increase significantly. Most of these schools have used Federal Vocational Education, Tech-Prep, and School-to-Work resources to support these efforts. For example, the Chicago High School for Agricultural Science offers a high-tech, academically challenging curriculum in the context of agricultural science. Students team up with industry for science projects and internships. Swansee High School in South Carolina eliminated the general track, revamped its curricula and teacher training programs, and now provides internships for all its students. As a result, the school has seen test scores and college attendance rates soar.
Although the 1998 budget requests vocational education funds under current law, the Administration will submit legislation to improve the Perkins Act. The legislation would support State reforms that build career preparation systems, strengthen links between vocational education and provide education improvement strategies, streamline Federal assistance, and focus on improving program quality and results.
The Department is asking the same tough questions as Congress about the effectiveness of the Federal investment in Vocational Education and School-to-Work. We want to know: Are secondary students prepared for and entering postsecondary education? Are students achieving to high academic standards? Are they gaining computer and technical skills that are up to date and meet industry-recognized standards? Are postsecondary students completing degrees and certificates? Is their education improving their opportunities for employment and future education?
In keeping with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), we have identified a preliminary set of objectives and indicators for Federal investments in these areas. We have been working with the States and localities to identify indicators of program performance. For some of these indicators, we already have baseline data and a plan in place to collect future information. Other information will require additional data and evaluation.
The indicators for School-to-Work and Vocational Education are closely aligned. They include academic achievement, especially in math and science, completion of high school and postsecondary degrees, and attainment of industry-recognized skill certificates. We will also track the number of participating schools, colleges, businesses, and students in School-to-Work. States have indicated an interest in working on a core set of measures that would provide consistent information to Congress and would be aligned with the indicators for other programs.
To help adult Americans improve their literacy skills so they can succeed in their roles as workers, citizens, and parents, the Administration requests $382 million for Adult Education State Grants. The increase of 12 percent over 1997 will help programs serve more students, strengthen support services, apply technology, and improve instruction. We are requesting Adult Education funds under current law, but will soon transmit legislation proposing a streamlined reauthorization of the Adult Education Act.
As is true for higher levels of education, higher levels of literacy are associated with better labor market outcomes. For instance, in 1991, the least literate workers had annual earnings that were about half the average for all workers.
Adult literacy is also critical to parental involvement in children's education, a key component of the President's "America Reads Challenge." Recent research on family literacy has demonstrated that participating adults make significant gains in language and math and their children make impressive developmental gains.
The adult education system is the point of access to lifelong learning opportunities for educationally disadvantaged adults, and it helps adults make the transition from welfare to work and assists immigrants to learn English. Adult education equips young adults with the high school credentials and skills they need to enroll in college. In 1995, 345,000 program participants received their high school credentials.
Our legislative proposal and our work with States will encourage the provision of support services to give adults the extra help they need to succeed in basic education. This strategy is used by programs like the Austin (Texas) Community College alternative high school program -- the "ACC Robbins Academy." In addition to its academic program, the Robbins Academy offers child care services, parenting skills, communication, problem-solving, social skills training, and job interview skills. A learning lab with tutorial assistance is available to students 13 hours a day.
Our proposal for reauthorization of the Act would promote program quality by establishing priorities for programs that effectively employ advances in technology, provide learning opportunities in a real life context, use well-trained instructors and staff, and have strong links to other programs and services. It will also contain provisions to increase State flexibility in conjunction with strong performance and accountability provisions.
The States, in collaboration with the Department, have been building the framework for a performance-based management system for Adult Education programs. All States have adopted indicators of program quality, which they use for a variety of purposes. Indicators help States to evaluate program effectiveness, make program funding decisions, identify technical assistance needs, and improve local programs. For the purposes of GPRA, our indicators will track the number of learners served, the completion of secondary credentials, and the transition of learners to higher education and work. We also plan to investigate the potential of basic skills certificates as a means to recognize student achievement of basic skills.
Investments in research, development, technical assistance, and evaluation at the national level have historically been extremely important. In order to be effective, national investments should be strategic, coordinated with other public and private efforts, have national significance, and be designed to contribute effectively to policy and practice. Over the past year, we have designed strategic frameworks for our investments in School-to-Work, Vocational Education, and Adult Education. We have been developing an inventory of the research and development conducted by other offices within the Department of Education and its laboratories and centers, as well as by other Federal departments and agencies and private foundations. We have been working collaboratively with these public and private entities and with States to design national activities strategies that will add value and insight to education and literacy practice. Our work primarily focuses on applied research and development -- that is, taking the ideas from research studies, putting them into practice, and analyzing the results.
The Administration's $20.5 million request for Vocational Education National Programs will continue funding for a National Center for Research on Vocational Education and support a new national assessment of vocational education. The balance of our national activities will support a few strategic investments, for example, in the area of high school reform, teacher preparation, and the improvement of performance measurement systems. Let me give you one example of how national investments in vocational education have had a significant impact on policy and practice. Using national activities resources, the Department of Education funded 16 skill standards partnerships and the Department of Labor funded 6 additional partnerships. We have worked closely on the development and implementation of those partnerships. These investments were designed to get business, labor, and education thinking much more broadly about skills needed for occupations and industries. The projects achieved that goal. They forged new partnerships, developed standards and assessments that are now being field-tested around the country, and provided valuable insights to inform the work of the National Skill Standards Board.
We request $6 million for the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) to continue its activities to promote awareness of literacy needs and promote communication and coordination in the field. The 1998 funds will support the extension and improvement in NIFL's electronic network and its campaign to increase awareness of the importance of literacy. We also request $6 million for Adult Education National Evaluation and Technical Assistance activities. We have a research, development and coordination plan with the NIFL and the National Center for Adult Learning and Literacy at Harvard that we developed with consultation from the literacy field. We believe this plan will enable us to maximize limited national activities resources. We intend to use resources to expand distance learning, to increase access to literacy services for larger numbers of adults, and to develop a basic skills assessment that will provide learners, employers, and policy- makers with solid evidence of literacy skill achievement by program participants.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. My colleagues and I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.
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