State Policy

Working Poor Families Project Releases Policy Brief on Upcoming Changes to the GED

/ The Old Crank

A new brief from the Working Poor Families Project provides an overview of the current GED landscape, outlines the changes coming in 2014, and explores some of the alternatives to attaining a high school equivalency diploma offered by many states. If you need a primer on this issue, this document is one of the most useful I’ve seen.

Increasingly, I think what states need to prepare for is not so much the new GED, but a new high school equivalency diploma landscape in which the GED is one of several exams available to states. The report concludes that “at least for most states… the GED test will continue to be an important part of the adult high school equivalency market” which is true, but what this statement implicitly acknowledges is that the GED Testing Service will not be the only player in that market. My understanding is that there will be at least two other major players entering this market.

When that happens, the benefits provided by the GED’s role as a de facto national H.S. equivalency exam will largely go away. For example, right now, because the GED is recognized everywhere, students are able to begin the GED in one state and finish it in another, but once the GED is no longer offered in every state, that benefit goes away.

Assistant Principal at New Haven Adult and Continuing Education Center: “People who have no money will never be able to actually take the GED”

/ The Old Crank

In case you missed it, NPR aired a story last week about the concerns over the high cost of the 2014 GED this morning. The report was filed from an affiliate in Connecticut, and featured interviews with students/staff at the New Haven Adult and Continuing Education Center.

That particular program was a good choice: Toni Walker, the Assistant Principal, is also a Connecticut state representative. Walker’s comments on the potential increase in cost gets to the heart of the issue:

“It [the cost] is going to be prohibitive … People come here with pennies and nickels, bringing us change to pay for their GED,” Walker says. “So it’s going to be a class issue. People who have no money will never be able to actually take the GED.”

MA Secretary of Education: Return on Investment for Adult Literacy “Huge”

/ The Old Crank

Massachusetts Secretary of Education Secretary Paul Reville, in a blog post from last week:

We know that parents and families are a student’s primary teacher and play an indispensible role in the development of children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. Programs like this one equip families with the skills they need to help children succeed in school and go beyond that to increase adults’ competitiveness in the job market so they can earn a living and support their family.  The return on investment here is huge, yet there are over 450 families still on the waiting list for this program alone because of a lack of resources for Adult Basic Education.

I cannot emphasize enough the enormous difference that effective adult education programs can make in the lives of families.  I felt it in the emotion of the parent testimonies that day and saw tangible results of this program in doors now opened to adults and families through it.  There are currently an estimated 1.1 million adults in Massachusetts in need of Adult Basic Education Services and less than 5% of that population is having those needs met.  We can and should do better. (my emphasis)

It’s encouraging that an education official at this level is arguing for adult education’s return on investment so forcefully. It’s also refreshing—and from a policy perspective, I think this is ultimately going to prove to be more effective—that he views adult education as an investment in families and communities, and not just “workers.” I think this puts job skills, as an outcome of adult education, in the proper context, as one of several outcomes of adult education that work together to strengthen families and the communities they live in.

One other really critical point: Reville’s post was inspired after a visit to a family literacy program in Chelsea, Mass. This is why it’s really important to invite public officials to visit programs so that they can see the impact for themselves. I’d like to believe that every cabinet-level state education official makes a visit to an adult or family literacy program at least once a year. If that’s not the case, it’s something we need to work on.

Read his entire post here. It’s really excellent.

h/t @WorldEdUS

Election Day

/ The Old Crank

In addition to the presidential contest and a couple of interesting Senate races, there are a couple of ballot initiatives related to immigration and education that I’ll be following closely tonight. First, in Maryland, there is a referendum on whether the state DREAM Act, passed by the legislature, should be enacted into law. If approved, eligible undocumented immigrants will be eligible for in-state tuition throughout Maryland’s public higher education system.

Second, in Montana, voters will decide on LR-121, a proposal to deny certain state services to undocumented immigrants, including barring them from “qualification as a student in the university system for the purposes of a public education,” as well as state-funded student financial aid. The proposal also requires any state agency in Montana to verify the immigration status of any individual seeking a state service if that individual cannot provide evidence of U.S. citizenship or lawful alien status. I have not heard anything specific related to the impact of this proposal on state/federal-funded adult education programs, but these kinds of requirements are typically problematic for many ESL programs.

See also: The Maryland Dream Act: Giving Undocumented Students Like Me a Fair Shot