The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics that is designed to provide information on educational issues that can best be studied through contacting households rather than educational institutions. This report compares the information collected through telephone interviews by the NHES on adult education in 1991 and 1995 with that collected through the Current Population Survey (CPS) of the Bureau of the Census at 3-year intervals between 1969 and 1984 and in 1992. Included in the study were examinations of population coverage and the selection of adults for interviews, survey nonresponse, the use of proxy reports of adult education participation, and survey context. In the NHES in 1991, 60,314 households were screened, and the total number of adult interviews completed was 12,568, a figure that included 9,774 adults who participated in adult education within the preceding 12 months. In 1992, approximately 57,000 households were interviewed for the CPS, a monthly survey of households. Estimates of adult education participation provided by the CPS are substantially lower than those from the NHES. The 1984 participation estimate from the CPS was 14% and the 1992 estimate was 21%. Differences in CPS and NHES estimates range from 13 to 20%. Examination of methodological, operational, and definitional issues that might account for the differences suggest that NHES figures are more accurate, although even these figures may underestimate participation. Reasons for the discrepancies are discussed. An appendix presents adult education participation items from the surveys. (Contains 9 tables and 37 references.) (SLD)