Education-based earnings differentials are a well-established trend in the U.S. labor market. Workers with postsecondary education have significantly higher earnings potential relative to those with a high school diploma or less. As many new jobs require increasing levels of proficiency in reading and math, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills, this earnings gap is likely to continue. Consequently, adults with low education and literacy levels (those who did not complete high school) face difficult labor market prospects. Policy makers and educators are recognizing the importance of developing program models that help adult learners transition into postsecondary education.

Under contract to the U.S. Department of Education, BPA has teamed with MDRC and Dr. Davis Jenkins of the University of Illinois at Chicago to conduct this two-year study. The project will focus on the importance, to the economic prospects of less educated adults and to employers seeking skilled workers, of transition from adult basic education (ABE) to community college certificate and degree programs, and will identify programs and strategies that successfully promote such transitions. The primary activities of the project will be to identify and provide detailed case studies of programs, practices, and strategies that successfully facilitate transitions from ABE to postsecondary education programs. A Technical Working Group (TWG) comprised of policy makers, researchers, and educators will provide input on criteria for selecting programs and on identification of promising programs. The scope of work includes a review of the literature to identify standards and criteria for selecting promising programs. A wide range of ABE and community college transition programs will be reviewed and 20 will be selected for detailed case studies. Both the initial review of promising programs and the detailed case studies will include collection and analysis of multiple program outcome measures and postsecondary program enrollment, retention, and completion data for students who transition from ABE.

Publications:

Adult Basic Education to Community College Transitions Symposium Proceedings Report