As the largest funder of adult basic education (ABE) in the nation, providing over $600 million through its Basic Grants to States (U.S. Department of Education, 2019), the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) drives ABE policies and practices. In a review of the announcement on Title II, the phrase "transition to" is repeated…

Not all of America's public schools have benefited from recent efforts to improve education, because the problems of schools and of their communities are deep and complex. By 2000, when one of every three pupils in the public schools will be nonwhite, America's major cities could become an educational Third World. To avoid a deepening crisis,…

Responds to Andrew S. Hughes' preceding article in this issue of "Educational Leadership." Notes past American debates over basic and general education and warns that trends toward educational retrenchment in the U.S. and Great Britain may lead schools to limit the mass of students to basic literacy education. (RW)

Vocational educators can play a significant role in workplace literacy programs by collaborating with business and industry in program development and advocating policy changes that integrate basic skills into vocational education curricula. (SK)

Few nations can claim that education is not a source of conflict. Although education alone cannot overcome all social evils, two problems can be attacked through a redirection of educational policies. The problems of illiteracy and of providing a basic education to all are the objectives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural…

Discusses the importance of basic education, which is predicated on five principles: (1) importance of intellectual development, (2) certain subjects are more important than others, (3) all children should learn these subjects, (4) pupil progress should depend upon pupil performance, and (5) teachers should be well-grounded in the subjects they…

This report contains the strategic policy recommendations of the Wisconsin Statewide Basic Skills Task Force. Introductory material describes the need for basic skills education within Wisconsin's adult population, and role of Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) in meeting that need. The next section considers the Task Force's formation to…

Responds to the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, taking issue with the two major themes of the report: the poor condition of American schooling and what to do to effect improvements. Comments on several of the report's recommendations for action. (RH)

Many major studies dealing with high schools agree that schools must press for higher performance standards in basic skills. These studies disagree on the role that vocational education ought to play in public schools. The author offers a checklist of what vocational educators should do to increase their role in shaping new educational policies.…

This statement, the product of a cooperative effort of professional associations of teachers in many disciplines, argues against a narrow approach to the problem of fostering basic skills that would ignore the complexity of modern life and the interdependency of disciplines. (JB)

Viet Nam's average annual population growth rate is 2.6%, which accounts for a large youth population: 37.7% of the total population is under age 15, compared with an average of 20% in developed or newly industrialized countries. A free basic education for all children is almost impossible to provide. With consideration of the Vietnamese people's…

In January of 1987, a planning conference was convened by the Center for Education Statistics as part of an effort to study the feasibility of various approaches to the nationwide assessment of children's readiness for instruction in kindergarten and first grade. This report provides, in an appendix, the texts of the four commissioned papers…

There has been specific, measurable progress made in education, but there are threatening trends that could wipe it out. These trends--the back to basics movement, minimum competency testing, vouchering, and the tax revolt--all support each other, and can cause detrimental effects on education if they should succeed. Ways that the federal…

Terry O'Banion discusses the history of the League for Innovation in the Community College, defines developmental and remedial education, presents several alternatives to the deficit model of developmental education, describes barriers to changing this model, highlights programs for improving self-concept, and identifies important faculty…

Issues related to basic skills education are discussed, beginning with a review of recent trends in American education. The 1960's are characterized as a decade of innovation, while the 1970's are described in terms of interest in accountability and cost effectiveness. Several reasons for current concerns about basic skills are suggested: parents'…