When Ethiopia launched its National Literacy Campaign (NLC) in July 1979, it was announced that illiteracy would be removed from the urban areas of the country by 1982 and from rural Ethiopia by 1987. By the end of the 12th round of the NLC in February 1985, 16.9 million youths and adults had been covered by the campaign, and 12 million (almost…

The feasibility of tutor-based assessments in cognitive skills, functional literacy, and literacy-related self-confidence was studied through assessment batteries completed by 38 tutors from curriculum-based or learner-centered literacy programs for adults. It is recommended that such assessments be incorporated into tutor training workshops to…

Since 2000, the "Measuring Up" report cards have evaluated the progress of the nation and individual states in providing Americans with education and training beyond high school through the bachelor's degree. The purpose of the series is to assist the nation and the states in improving higher education opportunity and effectiveness.…

This Policy Brief takes a first look at a newly identified national population of GED holders, who are compared with their counterparts who received a high school diploma as well as with their counterparts who have no high school credential. The focus of these comparisons is on long-term postsecondary education outcomes. Because these…

The Attleboro (Massachusetts) Workplace Education Program, a partnership of four area companies and Bristol Community College, is intended to provide workers with education that will improve the quality of their lives and their work. Housed in a corporate office building in the Attleboro Industrial Park, the program offers classes in English as a…

Today, being literate entails more than reading, writing, and spelling correctly. Literacy also includes the following: a process that is a creative set of social practices that vary according to context, text, and purpose; a process that integrates language skills with thinking; and a political process that empowers people and is inextricably…

This booklet contains 10 success stories of Pennsylvania men and women who discovered adult education programs that gave them the tools to create a new life for themselves and their families. Their stories affirm the ability of each adult to use education to overcome great difficulties. Some overcame physical and learning disabilities. Some…

A staff development project designed a publication for the effective statewide dissemination of significant current or previous Section 353 special demonstration projects in adult literacy education in Pennsylvania and for the provision of feedback to project directors about their project's strengths and weaknesses. During the project, 72 programs…

The Bronx Educational Services (BES) was funded by the National Institute for Literacy to conduct activities to meet the following three objectives: (1) to develop and implement an evaluation to assess whether BES students improve their reading skills to a statistically significant degree as measured by the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE);…

A case study was made of the participation and results of participation in an adult basic education (ABE) class by an African American student in her mid-40s. The woman had been a janitor and was promoted to supervisor of 17 custodial employees in building management. She attended ABE classes for 3 years. During this time, she advanced through…

Examines adults in postliteracy programs in Northern Tanzania, focusing on reading and writing abilities after five years of training; the role of radio, rural newspapers, and libraries in literacy; and adults' interest in postliteracy materials. Points to the continuing importance of the oral tradition and lack of adequate reading material as…

The Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy Participants was designed to assess the long-term impacts of adult literacy programs on quality of life. During the second year, a follow-up interview was used to survey socioeconomic, personal, social, and health changes. Baseline data for Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 were compared in four major areas:…

A study of the philosophies and practices of community-based literacy programs focused on their nature, characteristics, and needs. Five activities were conducted: determination of criteria for defining literacy programs as community-based; program identification; survey and interview of program directors; meetings and follow-up conversations with…

This paper describes seven ideas that would help a literacy program work well. Some examples are given to show how each idea could be used in different parts of a literacy program. Some questions are also listed that could stimulate discussion about each idea. The seven quality guidelines or ideas are as follows: (1) community focus--a good…

A literacy/basic skills training project, revised to allow for the realities of the economic recession in New England, successfully trained 590 employees and 364 unemployed men and women. Revised positive outcomes included employment in companies outside the eight original companies in the project, enrollment in higher-level education and skills…