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.