Literacy In the News

National Coalition for Literacy to Honor Adult and Family Literacy Leaders

The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) will present the 2009 NCL Literacy Leadership Awards at a reception at the Library of Congress on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. The awards recognize individuals and/or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to improving literacy and raising awareness of the adult literacy and English language learning needs in the United States. Recipients of the award have demonstrated a deep and sustained individual or organizational commitment by supporting literacy on the local, state, and national level.

NCL in partnership with ProLiteracy, NCFL, National Council of State Directors of Adult Education, TESOL, and Literacy Powerline hosted a webinar on what the stimulus means for adult education and literacy. Click here to learn more.

For the Workforce Alliance’s side by side of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other updates on the recovery effort, visit the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education

The American Council on Education held a webinar on the stimulus in conjunction with the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). The webinar and presentation are archived here.

The federal government has launched www.recovery.gov that allows you to see where the funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are used. The Council of State Governments is also developing a website to provide states with information about Recovery funding at http://www.staterecovery.org/.

How do adults with a GED credential compare to high school dropouts or traditional high school graduates with respect to earnings? In 2008 GED Testing Service published a research study on economic and noneconomic outcomes for GED credential recipients, using the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL, 2003) data for analysis. This complete study and executive summaries, along with other 2008 research studies, is available on the GED Testing Service website

Texas Update: Recently, more than 400 adult learners, teachers and program administrators were set to gather at the Texas Capitol to draw attention to the need for adult literacy services. For more details, read coverage of the event in the Star-Telegram. Meanwhile, the Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott cited adult education as a priority for the 2010-2011 budget, noting that it is both an education and economic development issue and asking for $50 million in funding. Read more.

ALA releases new web-based resource that will help library advocates make the case for libraries during times of economic downturn. The “Advocating in a Tough Economy” toolkit is available here.  The toolkit contains information on how to work with decision-makers, ways to work with the media, and talking points to help libraries articulate the role of libraries in times of economic downturn.         

The National Institute for Literacy released Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel, which will serve as the basis of research recommendations to the early childhood community – educators, caregivers, Head Start providers, and parents – on promoting the foundational skills of life-long literacy. Download the report at www.nifl.gov. 

GED Testing Service released the 2007 GED® Testing Program Statistical Report. More than 700,000 people took the GED Tests last year and almost a half a million passed. The report provides data on age, ethnicity, reasons for taking the tests and more.

The Manhattan Institute has issued Measuring Immigrant Assimilation in the United States, a study that shows immigrants, who arrived from 1990 to 2006, assimilated more quickly than immigrants of earlier generations despite lower levels of literacy and earning power. One contributing factor may be the economic growth in the 1990’s, which created more jobs at all levels of the workforce and helped with the economic integration of new residents.

The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in partnership with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems has issued a new report, Adult Learning in Focus: National State by State Data. The report provides data on adult participation in education and also identifies gaps in available data. The report discusses the affordability, support for part-time students, and other factors in adult participation rates that should help policymakers identify priorities for their state efforts.

Adult Education identified as the missing piece of education reform as Washington, DC officials resolve to improve the District's school system. They want to stop illiteracy at the source, but fail to recognize the critical role that parents play in a children's educational development. Literate parents pass on motivation and language skills to their children.

ABC News featured a two-part story on illiteracy in the US the last week of February and provided a wealth of resources on the ABC News website, including a link to NCL’s Health Literacy page. See the full story here

NCL and Dollar General focus attention on the economic impact of low literacy in South Carolina at meeting in Spartanburg. The Herald Journal covered the event, in Teachers: Adult illiteracy dragging down nation. “We are in a crisis,” noted Becky Godbey, manager of work force development for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, who led a panel of local business leaders.

From amednews.com, the newspaper for America’s Physicians, an article on the Health Literacy Act of 2007

Visit the website of the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy who today released PATHWAYS & OUTCOMES: TRACKING ESL STUDENT PERFORMANCE, a longitudinal study of adult ESL services at the City College of San Francisco (CCSF). The report will help those who plan and design ESL programs at community college and in other settings assess and develop effective services. See item ESL5 of the ESL section of the Publications page

Gaps in critical home conditions and experiences of young children mirror achievement gaps that begin early in life and persist through high school, according to a new report from the Educational Testing Service. The Family: America’s Smallest School examines the family and home experiences that influence children’s learning.

The National Commission on Adult Literacy issued the report, The Fiscal Consequences of Adult Educational Attainment, looking at the fiscal contributions of adults by education level in the 13 largest states. In Challenges in Assessing for Postsecondary Readiness, researchers examined assessments currently used to measure adult learning and determine student placements (e. g. BEST, CASAS, TABE) for alignment with postsecondary education requirements.

The National Commission on Adult Literacy released Workplace Education: Twenty State Perspectives. The report describes workplace education programs in 20 states, how states measure outcomes, key elements to success, and more. To view the report, a presentation by Marc Tucker, president of the National Center for Education and the Economy, visit the newly launched website.

Migration Policy Institute issues report that finds approximately 5.8 million lawful permanent US residents need about 277 million hours of English language instruction per year for six years to become proficient.

Adult Education in America: A First Look at Results from the Adult Education Program and Learner Surveys Educational Testing Service releases comprehensive report on federally funded adult education programs and the skills of participants enrolled in those programs.

Forces Changing our Nation’s Future compares the performance of American adults and youth on international literacy assessments, the importance of literacy and numeracy proficiencies for success in the job market, and the outlook for literacy proficiency among adults in the U.S. The report was released by the National Commission on Adult Literacy www.caalusa.org

The Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy released TORCHLIGHTS IN ESL: Five Community College Profiles, a supplement to PASSING THE TORCH: Strategies for Innovation in Community College ESL. The report profiles the ESL programs of the five colleges at the heart of CAAL's study- Bunker Hill Community College, MA, City College of San Francisco, CA, College of Lake County, IL, Seminole Community College, FL, and Yakima Community College, WA. The report is available in PDF at www.caalusa.org.

DARE TO DREAM: A Collection of Papers from a Resource Group of 102 Adult Education and Literacy Professionals The National Commission on Adult Literacy released this material which reflects the ideas, insights, cautions, and recommendations of 102 education and literacy leaders. The group was challenged to "think outside the box," of how to expand adult education and literacy service and to do so to a high standard of quality. Visit the CAAL website at www.caalusa.org for the report.

The Condition of Education 2007
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released its annual statistical report on education from early childhood through postsecondary education. While the report indicates that high school students are taking more courses, it also notes that three-quarters of the 2003-04 freshman class of public high schools graduated on time and that students who drop out tended to take fewer credits starting in their freshman years. The report is available on the NCES website.