Current Status:
Completed
Duration:
September 2017 – March 2023
Cost:
$1,892,943
Contract Number:
ED-PEP-16-A-0004/TO03
Contractor(s):
American Institutes for Research
Safal Partners
Contact:
Higher-level skills are increasingly required to succeed in the American workforce, and yet many adults in the United States face barriers in attaining them. Over 25 million adults have not earned a high school diploma or its equivalent. Even among those with at least a secondary credential, a lack of proficiency with the English language can be a significant barrier to a family-sustaining income and to full integration as citizens. Congress has sought to help individuals address these challenges—and the nation's workforce development needs—through Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. WIOA mandates an independent national evaluation of adult education programs funded under Title II. A part of the national evaluation, this study was designed to provide implementation information on such programs, with a focus on how the priorities within WIOA appear to be shaping the services provided by adult education programs and the populations such programs serve.
The study was descriptive and included a survey of the state directors and all approximately 1,600 local providers of adult education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The focus of the surveys was on program year 2018–2019, which was the first year in which local providers across the country were expected to operate under the requirements of WIOA. Some key findings from the provider survey were compared with findings from an earlier national survey of providers, conducted in 2003, allowing for an assessment of the extent to which adult education programs have evolved since prior to the enactment of WIOA. The study also included analyses of existing data, such as information collected at the state- and provider-level for the federal Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education's National Reporting System. This includes information on adult education programs funded and populations served.
A report, titled Linking Adult Education to Workforce Development in 2018-19: Early Implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act at the Local Level, was released in March 2023.
A supplemental volume, titled National Study of the Implementation of Adult Education: Compendium of Survey Results From 2018-19, was also released in March 2023.
A restricted-use file containing de-identified data is available for the purposes of replicating study findings and conducting secondary analyses.