Create Seamless Education Pathways
Approximately 15 percent of American adults do not have a high school diploma or General Equivalency Degree (GED), which limits most of them to low-wage work and limits the quality of workers available to American businesses. While basic or remedial education is important for addressing these issues, it will not produce the gains in earnings and productivity that policymakers seek. Instead, job training and adult education systems must focus on advancing students from basic education to college by coordinating a diverse set of agencies and programs into a seamless education path.[i]
What Can Policymakers Do?
Policymakers can direct agencies and allocate funding to develop education pathways that improve the likelihood that low-wage workers can advance to higher education. Specific program models include the following examples:[ii]
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Bridge programs. Governors in several states, such as California and Missouri, have announced bridge programs that not only provide basic skills training, but also provide academic training in preparation for college enrollment. These programs may also focus on specific industries to enhance the prospect for post-training employment. Through a pilot bridge program in Illinois, approximately 80 percent of the 1,500 participants completed the training, compared to a national average of 50 percent for traditional adult education programs.
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Dual enrollment programs. These programs shorten the time frame needed to earn a credential by integrating basic literacy education into a specific job-training curriculum. Ohio's Career-Technical Credit Transfer Initiative better aligns basic education programs with credit-bearing programs to allow certification of more workers in high-priority areas across the state.
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Enhancing community college programs. The Achieving the Dream project assembles program data and research findings on how to improve student outcomes at community colleges, and there are specific steps that states can take to support college efforts in improving student outcomes.[iii] Kentucky improved its adult education to college transitions from 12 percent to 21 percent over seven years
[i] Amy-Ellen Duke and Evelyn Ganzglass, 2007. "Strengthening State Adult Education Policies for Low-Skilled Workers," Washington, DC: Center for Law and Social Policy.
[ii] Amy-Ellen Duke and Evelyn Ganzglass, 2007. "Strengthening State Adult Education Policies for Low-Skilled Workers," Washington, DC: Center for Law and Social Policy.
[iii] Michael Lawrence Collins, 2009. “Setting Up Success in Developmental Education: How State Policy Can Help Community Colleges Improve Student Success Outcomes.”