Letters to the Editor

No one left behind: Reconsidering adult basic education

New U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is likely to focus his efforts primarily on K-12, but he should not ignore the often overlooked adult education system.

One in four working American families are low-income. Though the causes of poverty are many, the lack of basic and advanced educational skills is a major factor. Half the U.S. workforce has only a high school education or less, and 25 million workers lack a high school diploma or GED. According to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, more than half of adults lack adequate literacy skills for the modern workplace, regardless of their actual credential.

As immigrants have comprised an increasing share of the American workforce, the challenge of a non-English speaking or reading workforce has grown substantially. In Massachusetts, 29 percent of arriving adult immigrants have no high school diploma or GED, and one quarter of the immigrant labor force in the state speaks English poorly or not at all.

Adult educational levels are reflected directly in wages. College educated workers now make 75 percent more than those with only a high school diploma, a wage premium that has nearly doubled in the last 20 years. Workers with limited basic literacy skills are often stuck at the bottom, with little opportunity to increase skills or move up at work.

Very few low-skilled adults participate in any kind of basic education programs, and the results for those who do are not great. Why? I would argue that our adult education system is seriously outdated.

Attention and resources devoted to adult basic education are inadequate at the federal, state and local levels. Most adult education programs do not directly and effectively prepare students for occupationally specific training and post-secondary education. In the adult education field, teachers are poorly compensated, many work only part-time, and innovations are rare. And life gets in the way for most low-skilled adults; multiple jobs, family responsibilities, poor transportation and financial limitations constrain opportunities to improve their employment earning prospects.

What can be done to address these challenges? Though a commitment to increase public investment in adult basic education is important, it’s not the only answer. Private employers represent the nation’s largest source of investment in worker education, but resources tend to go to higher-skilled and higher-paid employees.

Public investment needs to be structured to provide incentives for private investment in basic education for low-skilled workers at the workplace. Well-designed public funding can unlock enormous private participation. The federal and state departments of education should take a serious look at our old systems and consider a radical makeover.