This paper and the four commissioned works on which it is based are guided by the important question: How can we start valuing practices and outcomes of teaching and learning that are difficult to reduce to numbers? As the process of developing indicators for the Post-2015 education targets unfolds, some of the targets are at risk of being dropped…

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments related to the development of indicators of educational progress in the context of the Post 2015 deliberations to generate a new international architecture for educational investment through to 2030. There have been a plethora of suggestions and several parallel consultation processes…

A study examined the role of the state in providing adult literacy services. Questionnaires were sent to state adult education directors, state library directors, and state literacy commission directors in the 50 states and five territories, with a varying rate of return approximating 75 percent. Each questionnaire sought information about…

During fiscal year 1995, more than $29 million was spent on adult education and literacy programming in Illinois, with federal, state, and public aid accounting for 36%, 30%, and 34% respectively of all funds. Of those funds, 77% were spent on direct instruction. The 107 adult education/literacy programs offered in Illinois' 4 planning regions in…

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…

The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was a collaborative effort by seven governments and three intergovernmental organizations to describe and compare the literacy skills of people from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each country drew a probability sample from which results…

An examination of data pertaining to the participation of adult residents of New York in the Adult Literacy Education Program during 1981-82 revealed that many of the 85,400 adults served by the program moved from being illiterate and unemployed or on welfare to being employed and independent of public assistance. The majority of those…

Census data, enrollment statistics, and selected studies/reports regarding adult literacy and literacy education in British Columbia (Canada) were examined to determine the nature and scope, need for, and cost of literacy activities and programs in British Columbia. According to 1986 census data, 17% of British Columbia's adult population lack…

The factors affecting the outcomes of indigenous Australians' participation in vocational education and training (VET) were examined in a study in which 7 Aboriginal researchers in 5 Australian states and territories interviewed 70 indigenous Australians enrolled in VET and 48 coordinators and teachers in technical and further education (TAFE)…

National activities are underway in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States to extend the right to free elementary and fundamental education to adults, and to transform the many local, independently acting programs into systems of state-supported, free education for adults across the life span. This paper summarizes these activities in…

A task force studied adult education services in Maryland. The task force heard presentations from a wide range of stakeholders, including adult learners, professional associations, administrators, practitioners, and educational researchers. The presentations confirmed that the need for adult education services in Maryland is extensive and the…