"Accelerating Opportunity" responds to the nation's growing need for improved pathways from Adult Basic Education (ABE) to credentials of value in the labor market. It builds on promising practices developed in "Breaking Through," an initiative of Jobs for the Future and the National Council for Workforce Education, and Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST). "Accelerating Opportunity" will take those proven practices to statewide scale. The initiative consists of two phases: (1) The design phase began in March 2011. Eleven states (Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin) have received funding to redesign the pathways between ABE and postsecondary education and training; (2) The three-year implementation phase begins at the end of the design phase, in December 2011. Five design phase states will be selected to receive three years of funding to implement "Accelerating Opportunity" pathways in at least eight colleges, with the goal of improving outcomes for at least 3,600 students per state. Non-funded states will be part of a growing affiliate network of states committed to developing integrated pathways for low-skilled adults. These states will continue to be active participants in peer learning events. This paper highlights the policy-based, systemic, and programmatic barriers to student success; and how "Accelerating Opportunity" is structured to address them, enabling many more adults to succeed in their quest for postsecondary credentials. Appended are: (1) The Leadership Team; and (2) For Further Reading. [Funding for this paper was also provided by the Open Society Foundations.]