Adult Basic Education: Aligning Adult Basic Education and Postsecondary Education

Overview & Synopsis

In 2007, the 80th Texas Legislature included a rider to the General Appropriations Act for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The rider directed the agency to coordinate with the Texas Education Agency to develop and implement plans to align adult basic education with postsecondary education. The Coordinating Board, in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Workforce Commission, was directed to determine: the current and projected demand for adult basic education services in Texas; the instructional programs needed for current and future populations; the social and economic outcomes related to providing varying levels of adult basic education services; a comparison of programs offered in other states; and the current organizational structure and agency roles for providing adult basic education services as well as recommendations for achieving state goals efficiently and effectively. Researchers at the University of Houston who conducted the study addressed all of the elements identified in the General Appropriations Act. They surveyed the state of adult basic education in Texas, as well as adult basic education in several other states identified by the Coordinating Board. The researchers also validated all data provided by Texas LEARNS--the organization that is contracted by the Texas Education Agency to provide all adult basic education in Texas. The Coordinating Board developed this report based on the findings by the University of Houston. Appended to this report are: (1) General Appropriations Act, HB 1, 80th Texas Legislature, Section 50 (Page III-57); (2) A Study of the Current Organizational Structure and Agency Roles in Providing ABE [Adult Basic Education] in Texas; (3) Funding Mechanisms of ABE Programs in Comparison States; (4) DRAFT: Identification of Best Practices in Adult Basic Education; (5) Annual Cost of Adult Basic Education Enrollments; and (6) Estimation of Adult Basic Education Return on Investment. (Contains 10 tables and 4 figures.)