Despite increasing demand in distance education, relatively little is known about the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as basic skill levels of adult distance education participants at the national level in the US. This study analyzed the US data from the 2012/2014 and 2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult…

"Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 6," is the newest volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and…

A study examined the characteristics of those individuals who participate in New York City's adult literacy programs. Interviews were conducted with 32 native-born U.S. citizens (native speakers of English) who had enrolled in a literacy program for the first time and had been reading somewhere up to the 4.9 grade level at the time they entered…

The purpose of this study was to compare low readers and high readers in adult basic education (ABE) programs in New Jersey in terms of demographic characteristics, motives for enrolling in ABE, and desire to learn certain functional competencies. Fifty-two low readers and 52 high readers responded to items on the Interview Schedule of the Adult…

Testing of skills in reading, mathematics, and English as a second language (ESL) was conducted at 12 programs for homeless people in California in 1992; 2,111 homeless persons were evaluated. Analysis of the data revealed that approximately 63 percent of the participants were male and 37 percent were female; 35 percent were between 20-29, 39…

A summary of current demographic trends, best practices, and federal initiatives in adult literacy is presented as a reference for practitioners in the field who are involved in delivering education services to adults with limited English skills. The report is based on U.S. Department of Education annual state adult education statistical and…

In 1983-1984 the adult literacy program in the State of New York served 78,195 adults. Fifty-one percent were female, 17 percent had completed less than 5 years of formal education, 24 percent considered a language other than English as their native language, 46 percent were between the ages of 16 and 24, 42 percent were between the ages of 25 and…

A study was made of the prose, document, and quantitative literacy skills of adults in the United States by their highest level of educational attainment. In addition, the study examined the literacy skills of recent General Educational Development (GED) graduates. The data used in the study came from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey…

The New York City Adult Literacy Initiative was instituted in 1984. Approximately 22,000 students attended the city's literacy program in 1984, with the number increasing to nearly 50,000 by 1986. A study examined one year, 1985-1986, of the program's operation. Of the 49,986 students enrolled in 1985-1986, 40,754 were in bilingual education (BE)…

This report provides demographic data on students attending New York City Adult Literacy Initiative (NYCALI) programs. It specifies the number of students served by each literacy provider agency (LPA) and the types of classes they attend. It includes data on total instructional hours offered, total hours of student attendance, enrollment figures…

This document contains 20 papers on lifelong education presented at a conference on aging. The papers, grouped into themes of trends and implications, resourceful roles (students and learners, teachers and mentors) and an agenda for the future, include the following: "Demographic Potential and the Quiet Revolution" (Opening Remarks by Robert A.…

Education records of 1,193 inmates who enrolled in a county prison corrections education program in Pennsylvania from January 1981 through December 1988 were used to evaluate the outcomes of the program. The number of years of formal education, education program placement test scores, end of class cycle test scores, student's stated goal or…

The Office of Technology Assessment reviewed the nation's literacy problem and the current and potential impact of using technologies in adult literacy programs. Data were collected from 2 workshops, 155 contributors and reviewers, 60 existing literacy programs, and 6 contractor reports. The information is summarized in this eight-chapter report.…