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Overview

Section 243 of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) authorizes the Secretary to establish and carry out a "program of national leadership activities to enhance the quality of adult education and literacy programs nationwide." The Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy oversees the activities funded through the Section 243.

The national activities funded through Section 243 have been targeted in four broad areas:

• Improving instruction and teacher quality
• Creating new models of service delivery to learners
• Improving accountability
• Supporting research

Major activities funded since 2006 include:

Improving Instruction by helping states enhance teacher quality through professional development.

• English Language Acquisition: The Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) Network maintains a variety of resources, including topical briefs, a quarterly newsletter, a training guide, and a repository of research-based information on English language learning. The CAELA Network is also providing technical assistance to twelve States to develop training for teachers of adult English language learners.
• Reading: Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) is helping to expand States' use of evidence-based reading practices by providing intensive training to teachers and local program administrators. Currently, nineteen States have partnered with OVAE to deliver STAR training and technical assistance to ABE practitioners in their States. STAR continues to recruit more states to implement evidence-based reading instruction.
• Math: The Adult Numeracy Instruction project is working to expand the evidence-base for adult math instruction as well as to provide adult education teachers and program administrators with professional development that will result in more effective numeracy instruction for adult learners. The project is analyzing the findings and recommendations of the 2008 National Math Panel Report for relevance to adult education. In collaboration with the Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy (TIAN) project funded by the National Science Foundation, a professional development model is being developed and field-tested.
• Standards-Based Education: The Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Website and the Standards-In-Action initiative are both integral parts of OVAE's commitment to improve the quality of adult education programs through the implementation of content standards. The Warehouse Website provides examples of content standards from a variety of states and organizations information about the components of standards-based education reform in A Process Guide for Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards; and resources on professional development and national and international standards. Standards-In-Action is producing a series of training materials to help program staff acquire the knowledge and skills needed to implement effective standards-based education. The draft training materials will be finalized for dissemination to states through the National Diffusion of Standards-In-Action project, beginning in October 2009.

Creating New Models of Service Delivery to help adults across the nation to access the education, training and information resources they need to be college and career ready.

• College Readiness: Ready for College is a discretionary grant program that assists States and local adult education programs in successfully transitioning adult secondary education (ASE) students into postsecondary educational opportunities. The effort provides support to four States working with twenty-five local adult education programs. Local programs are enhancing and expanding as well as gathering data on instructional and programmatic strategies that help out-of-school youth achieve high school equivalency, demonstrate college readiness and transition to postsecondary education. States' results are expected to include curricular, counseling, scheduling, and professional development innovations that will be packaged for dissemination nationally by Fall 2010.
• Career Pathways: The Adult Basic Education Career Connections demonstration project supports the involvement of five local adult education programs in postsecondary career pathways initiatives. The project is producing a manual 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. The manual will be released in late fall 2009.
• Online Learning: USA LEARNS builds national capacity to meet the needs of low-skilled adults and English language learners. This project provides engaging English language learning materials that can be used for independent learning or to supplement classroom instruction. The easy-to-use, multi-media resources can help beginning adult English language learners acquire skills in both oral and print language anywhere and any time.
• Distance Education: National activities funds have also supported States working toward making distance-learning options available through funded adult education programs. Funds underwrote development of national polices on reporting distance students and tools for training teachers to teach at a distance.
• Interagency Models: National activities funds supported demonstrations in six States that exemplified interagency partnerships. The demonstrations focused on partnerships to improve the provision of services between adult education and workforce development partners. In addition to regional meetings to share lessons learned during the demonstrations, a manual that will be available to all States, by late Fall 2009, is in the final stages of production.
• Guide for Businesses: This project is designed to promote more business involvement in adult education and develop adult education programs that prepare students for work, expected release in Fall 2009.

Improving Accountability by establishing a comprehensive performance accountability system to assess the effectiveness of eligible agencies in making continuous improvement in their adult education and literacy activities.

• Report Cards: National programs funds supported States developing public performance report cards to improve accountability of local adult education programs. Materials related to these efforts are posted on the NRS Web site and include electronic templates and training materials.
• Desktop Monitoring: National programs funds supported regional meetings that assisted States in improving their desk monitoring procedures. Models of State data systems and other electronic tools are available for States on the NRS Web site.
• Performance-Based Funding: National programs funds were invested in case studies of performance- based funding in three States. These case studies were shared with States at conferences and other forums. An activity that started in 2008 will provide direct technical assistance to state policymakers and adult education administrators about the adoption of performance-based funding systems to allocate federal, state, or both types of adult education resources.
• Leadership Academy: This new project will enable State Directors to attend a week-long intensive leadership seminar. The leadership academy will include a review of pertinent leadership research and lessons and activities to strengthen State directors' leadership skills. Training will explore a variety of decision-making models and research on the roles and responsibilities associated with instructional leadership. This should be available early spring 2010.

Supporting Research to identify teaching and learning activities that are likely to produce substantial gains in student learning.

• Reading (National Institute for Child Health and Development): Each of these six studies represents some of the most comprehensive research efforts to date on teaching adults to read. These studies promise to identify new knowledge about: factors that influence instruction (in reading and writing); effective program structures and models of service delivery; and how adults learn.
• STAR (Student Achievement in Reading) Evaluation: This study focuses on learner outcomes that result from using the evidence-based research materials in the STAR project. Results from this study are also expected to help state and local program administrators to better understand and identify what quality implementation of STAR looks like as well as program structures that support learner achievement in reading.
• An Evaluation of Explicit Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners: This experimental design study is investigating the impact of explicit literacy instruction on the achievement of low-literate adult English language learners (ELLs). The research team has identified local programs in California, Florida, Texas and Illinois—all states with large numbers of English language learners (ELLs)—to test strategies for teaching reading and writing to low-literate adult ELLs. Data collection began in fall 2008 from ten programs with 40 teachers instructing nearly 1,800 low-literate adult ELLs. Study results are expected to be available in late 2010.
• Transitioning English Language Learners: This two-year descriptive study will explore instructional strategies and program supports that facilitate advanced English language learners (ELLs) successful transition to adult basic (ABE) and adult secondary (ASE) education. The study is also expected to provide descriptive details on the characteristics of students for whom these strategies appear to be successful. A report summarizing findings with recommendations for policy makers and researchers is expected to be available by late 2010.
• National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) Study: The 2003 NAAL data continues to be a comprehensive and seminal source of information on the state of adult literacy in the United States. The NAAL Web site contains data useful to addressing literacy needs of America's adult population. Publications and resources based upon secondary analysis of the NAAL data such as state and county synthetic estimates and the recently released brief on the English literacy levels of America's foreign-born adults can help States to understand and address particular regional adult literacy needs. Information from an earlier study funded through Section 243, the Adult Education Program Study (AEPS), can also be useful to States in conducting adult literacy needs assessments.