Is it Time for the Adult Education System to Change Its Goal from High School Equivalency to College Readiness?
According to a comprehensive research review by Portland State University's Steve Reder, the adult education system should change its goal to successful transition to postsecondary education. Reder concludes that a high school diploma or GED is no longer sufficient for success in the workforce. The following is a summary of the main points and policy implications from that review.
While a high school diploma or equivalent did at one time provide reasonable access to well-paying jobs and other opportunities, changes in technology, labor markets, and global competition have increased demand for the skills and knowledge traditionally learned in postsecondary education and training. Reder's paper finds that the earnings gap between the education "haves" and "have-nots" is widening, reflecting the increasing economic returns of higher education.
Reder found significant overlap between students in adult literacy programs and those in remedial education classes at postsecondary institutions. Using data from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS, see About the Research, below), which places adults into one of five levels of literacy skill, Reder conducted an analysis of postsecondary student literacy proficiencies. He found that 15 to 17 percent of postsecondary students have proficiencies below NALS Level 3. The average NALS score for GED graduates is at the transition point between NALS Levels 2 and 3. In other words, 2.9 million postsecondary students have literacy skills below that of the average GED graduate.1 Of this group, 30 percent are enrolled in two-year degree programs, 53 percent in four-year degree programs, and 17 percent in advanced degree programs.
About the Research Adult Literacy and Postsecondary Education Students: Overlapping Populations and Learning Trajectories, by Stephen Reder, NCSALL, 1999 In this article, Reder used data from the National Adult Literacy Survey of 19921, the Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey (BPS), and other national studies to review the proficiencies, needs, and completion rates of GED recipients who enter postsecondary education. NALS randomly selected and tested 26,000 Americans who were 16 years of age and older. Each participant was tested for reading and math skills using materials that simulated the literacy demands of everyday life and interviewed about demographic, employment, education and other characteristics. Available on the NCSALL web site. 1 Kirsch, I.S., Jungeblut, A., Jenkins, L., & Kolstad, A. (1993). Adult Literacy in America: A first look at the results of the National Adult Literacy Survey. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. |
The literacy skill level, as measured by NALS, of high school graduates and GED graduates is comparable, but their postsecondary completion rates are not. Sixty-three percent of all beginning postsecondary students either attain a degree or are still enrolled and pursuing one five years after entry. Of those, the overall rate is much higher for students entering with high school diplomas (65 percent) than with a GED (40 percent).
The grades of GED recipients who do enter postsecondary education are roughly comparable to those of students entering with high school diplomas. While GED recipients' grades are initially lower during the first year of postsecondary education, over time they rise to levels statistically comparable to high school graduates. Reasons that GED holders have dramatically lower rates of persistence and completion in postsecondary programs may be a result of their being older, less likely to be full-time students, and more likely to be full-time workers and single parents.
Reder makes four policy recommendations for ways that the adult education and the postsecondary education systems could increase the number of GED holders who both enter and are successful in further education and training:
-
Advance the goal of adult education from high school equivalency to college readiness. According to Reder, the mean annual earnings of U.S. adults age 18 and older rise dramatically with education. Individuals without a high school diploma or GED earn $16,124, as compared to $22,895 for those with a high school diploma or GED, $29,877 for those with a two-year degree, $40,478 for those with a four-year degree, and $64,229 for those with an advanced degree.2 If adult education programs adopt the goal of helping more GED graduates enroll and succeed in college, it could have a tremendous impact on students' earnings over their lifetime.
-
Policy makers should add support for GED- to- postsecondary transition to WIA legislation. Too many students who obtain a GED are not sufficiently prepared to succeed in college. These students need "bridge" programs that assist in the transition from GED programs to postsecondary education. However, Reder concludes in his review that "Despite the increasing overlap between the populations of adult education and remedial postsecondary students, surprisingly little attention has been given to developing programmatic and policy bridges between the two systems. Five-year state plans developed thus far for implementing WIA have either totally overlooked coordination between adult education and remedial postsecondary education or paid scant lip service to it. (p. 143)"
Since WIA regulations recognize transition into postsecondary education as a positive outcome of adult education programs, new legislation could support coordination between adult education and postsecondary education programs. The goal of this collaboration would be the creation of a seamless path from a GED into postsecondary education and training. Several practical issues need consideration before moving ahead to build such transition programs. These include the roles and responsibilities of each system, sources of funding, approaches to accountability, and appropriate curriculum and instruction.
Teaching
Materials: Helping Students Receiving a GED credential is a valued step in an adult's life for many intangible reasons. At the same time, GED students deserve an opportunity to understand just what the GED may or may not do for them in tangible, economic terms. NCSALL was eager to see research findings on the economic impact of the GED made accessible to adult students and their teachers. Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future is a set of materials designed to be used in GED classrooms. The materials provide GED students with practice in graph and chart reading, math, analysis of data, and writing, while they examine the labor market, the role of higher education, and the economic impact of the GED. After using these materials, GED students are better prepared to make decisions about their work lives as well as being better prepared to pass the GED. Adult education teachers can use these materials as the basis for professional development for themselves, so that they are better equipped to advise their students on career and educational decisions. Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future is available online. |
-
Adult education and postsecondary education teachers and administrators should become more familiar with each other's programs. In most cases, the adult education and remedial postsecondary education3 systems operate independently of each other, even on campuses where both programs are offered. Reder argues that building connections between the educators in these two systems is crucial because they must work in collaboration to help the same pool of students. Practitioners currently working in the two systems generally belong to different professional organizations, have different professional identities, attend separate conferences, and read different journals. Adult education and postsecondary organizations should sponsor joint professional development activities and publications. Such joint activities could forge closer links between these two largely separate worlds of practice that find themselves serving similar populations.
-
Adult educators and postsecondary educators should work together to build the literacy skills of their students. Adult educators try to base instruction on the daily lives and needs of adult students. They know how to design lessons that integrate basic skills with the work and family responsibilities adults face each day. On the other hand, remedial postsecondary educators generally offer lessons that integrate basic reading and writing skills with the content of academic courses, such as science or history. GED students who may go on to college need to practice the literacy skills they need in daily life, but they also need to improve the reading and writing skills they need to pass college courses. Educators from both adult education and postsecondary education should work together to design transition programs that build skills useful for both academic study and the demands of work, family, and citizenship.
References
-
Fifteen percent of this group have limited English proficiency.
-
Mean earnings for adults age eighteen and over with education, taken from U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Educational Attainment in the United States, March 1998 (Update), Table 9, p. 51.
-
Also called "developmental education".