Why Virginia Settling on the GED is Probably Good News for the Region

/ The Old Crank / 1 Comment

The Washington Post reported Friday that Virginia will continue to use the GED as their high school equivalency test. The Old Dominion joins Maryland and the District of Columbia in sticking with the GED (at least for now), and it seems to me this is good news for those seeking to attain a high-school equivalency credential in the DC/VA/MD region, where the population tends to move around, especially between Washington and the surrounding counties. Those preparing for the GED in the District, for example, won’t have to start over again with a different test if they move their residency to one of the surrounding counties—a fairly common occurrence. (Same goes for GED instructors.)

I still think that ultimately the GED backlash (at least threes states—Montana, New Hampshire, and New York, have already announced that they’re going with alternative exams, and more will likely follow) might have something of a silver lining if it encourages states to take a fresh look at how to better serve adults who are seeking to attain a high school credential. The GED was never actually the only way to this in most states anyway, just by far the most popular way. But as useful as it has been to have a de facto standard with the GED, there really ought to be multiple pathways to a high school credential, with options that accommodate the many different needs and circumstances of those seeking one. And those options ought to include opportunities to simultaneously attain industry credentials, trade skills, and/or enrollment in postsecondary education. (This is why I think the GED Testing Service’s efforts to continue to dominate the market  will ultimately fail—I think they’ve just pushed along a re-thinking process at the state level that was probably going to happen anyway.)

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Rising Political Figure in Pakistan Says Illiteracy Is a “National Emergency”

/ The Old Crank

According to Pakistan’s English-language newspaper The Nation, Imran Khan, the leader of a rising political party in Pakistan, plans to treat the country’s dismal literacy rates as “a national emergency” if his party comes to power.

Kahn is proposing “a twin track approach” that will expand primary education to universal access while simultaneously “tackl[ing] the adult illiteracy problem with all available resources.”

In a blog post published by The News Tribune, Kahn calls literacy “a fundamental human right” that is “essential to social and human development.” and explains why it is necessary to address both adult and children’s literacy in order to raise Pakistan’s overall literacy rate:

Tackling illiteracy starts with achieving universal primary education so that Pakistan’s 25 million children, who at present do not go to school, will have an opportunity for free, accessible, excellent primary education in a system that is uniform throughout the country.  Educational institutions will be devolved to the town level with management at district and sub-district levels.  Curriculums will be improved, teacher training radically increased and a new school building program will be initiated nationwide.

At the same time, I will create a special task force to pursue reaching full literacy in Pakistan by 2025, with a state sponsored mass literacy campaign for adults, making the best use of available resources. This will be an organised campaign using private and public sector resources, with major public media input and with programmes planned with relevance to poor and rural communities.

Kahn also outlines the economic case for improving his country’s literacy rate:

I have vowed to increase the education budget from 2.1% to 5% of the GDP. Illiteracy in Pakistan is costing an estimated $5.86 billion or 1.2% of GDP. The one-off investment in a successful literacy campaign will have diminishing costs and increasing returns over ten years, increasing the country’s GDP and lifting the country out of its current cycle of poverty, discord and violence.

Adult Education in the President’s Proposed FY 2014 Budget

/ The Old Crank

Just had time to take a quick look. More detail (lots more detail, in fact) here.

The short version: The Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grant program under Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was level funded once again at $594 million (including the usual $74.7 million set-aside for English Literacy/Civics Education. However, the President does propose a $3 million increase for Adult Education National Leadership Activities. This proposed increase would be used to “support the expansion of the Department’s reentry education model demonstration initiative” and “help develop evidence of effectiveness in a variety of institutional contexts and build on the Department’s recent Promoting Reentry Success through Continuity of Educational Opportunities competition.”

Of course, there are other federal programs of interest to adult education programs. The only one I’ve had a chance to look at so far is the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The President’s budget requests $1.061 billion for the CNCS and its programs, an increase of $12.2 million over the 2012 funding level.

Scrambling for Dollars

/ The Old Crank

Somewhat unusual state funding scheme, I think, for adult literacy in New Mexico, assuming this story was reported accurately. I think what is going on here is that the state has decided it wants state adult literacy funds that are not part of their 25%  match under Title II of WIA to be reserved for programs not receiving Title II funding.

It’s very challenging, I think, for coalitions to serve as conduits for state funding and still serve as a broad-based coalition for the field. Even when it works well, the dynamic between coalition members and the leaders of the coalition is different when coalition members rely on the coalition for funding. And of course, program directors that don’t get your funding won’t be happy, and when funding gets tight, disputes like this seem sort of inevitable.

I’m be interested in hearing about other coalition organizations that serve as state funding intermediaries.