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Explores barriers adult basic education students face in obtaining postsecondary credentials. The authors offer suggestions to policymakers that can be used to improve the outcomes for ABE students based on lessons learned from three state-level policy initiatives: Bridges to Opportunity, Breaking Through and Shifting Gears. The paper also provides specific suggestions for federal support of similar efforts. (James Jacobs & Pamela Tolbert-Bynum -Community College Research Center, Columbia University, June 2008)

Alabama colleges saw a significant increase in the percent of students taking remedial math during this past fall. The story attributes the increase to a larger number of adults returning to postsecondary education because of the economy.

Washington Post article on the need for basic skills/remediation among adults returning back to education after leaving the workforce.

In this edition, we feature the Workforce Competitiveness Collection, which covers Workforce Education, English Language Acquisition, and Technology. Each month, Collections News features one of the three LINCS Resource Collections - Basic Skills, Program Management, and Workforce Competitiveness - and introduces research-based resources that you can use in your adult basic education and family literacy programs and classrooms.

Facing dwindling state dollars and more pressure to graduate students, Texas community colleges may begin steering students who test at the lowest skill levels toward shorter vocational programs or adult basic education before attempting college academics. (San Antonio Express-News, 01/21/11)

Declares that the mission of higher education includes achievement of the following by 2025: 40% of adult Oregonians have earned a bachelor's degree or higher; 40% an associate's degree or postsecondary credential; and the remaining 20% at least a high school diploma.

From CLASP: Beyond Basic Skills describes strategies that can be used to strengthen connections between basic skills education and postsecondary education to help lower-skilled adults and out-of-school youth attain the postsecondary credentials they need to advance in the labor market. This includes state-level innovations such as: instructional strategies that provide a strong foundation in occupational skills required for jobs in the local economy; acceleration strategies that help students progress further and more quickly in education and training programs in a shorter period of time than traditional approaches, and funding formulas, assessment policies, and other administrative policies that support a statewide vision to provide adults and youth with pathways to better jobs through postsecondary education. The report also includes examples of states and local institutions that are effectively implementing one or more of these innovations.

Report from CLASP for policymakers on how to link basic skills instruction to postsecondary attainment

Memorandum of agreement with the University of Maine System

This policy brief examines the limitations of current assessments to determine student placement into developmental studies courses. Special attention is given to the GED as it relates to postsecondary readiness. The report recommends that the adult educa

The Joyce Foundation initiative is designed to help the workforce in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin develop skills and credentials essential for twenty-first century jobs. These states are re-engineering adult education, workforce development and postsecondary education policies to support economic growth and expand job opportunities for low-skilled workers in the Midwest.

Shifting Gears web site funded by the Joyce Foundation. Initiative funded to help 6 midwestern states address how to increase worker skills and certificate and degree completion in postsecondary ed.

Under the I-BEST model, basic skills instructors and college-level career-technical faculty jointly design and teach college-level occupational courses for adult basic skills students in both these areas. This paper presents findings from a study on the o

Wonderful research on the success of the I-BEST model. I-BEST is maybe the best example on how to effectively use data to assess the need for reform and the impact of the reform. It is a model that other states should consider strongly.

Assesses the impact on enrollment pathways and academic milestones on student success, as part of a larger study. The report finds that enrollment pathways are an effective strategy for adult students and academic milestones are more effective for younger students. The researchers used data from students at Florida community colleges. (Juan Calcagno, Peter Crosta, Davis Jenkins and Thomas Bailey; Community College Research Center, 2006)

This piece is great for outlining the basis of the recent movement toward "momentum" points in postsecondary education.