OTHER NEWS

The TABE Adaptive is a new computer adaptive version of TABE 9 & 10, designed to adjust to the ability level of each student individually. It is administered online and provides immediate reporting of scores.    CTB/McGraw-Hill and COABE jointly introduced it to the market on April 3rd.  According to the program publicity, it assesses the skills and knowledge of adults for screening and placement in training and employment programs or to determine readiness to take the GED test.  A diagnostic component helps adult educators support the advancement and learning of adults.  Register at the above link to explore the program.

2012 NRS Changes -- As a result of a meeting held by OVAE in August 2010, several changes in the measures and reporting requirements of the National Reporting System (NRS) will become effective during program year 2012.  Numerous documents are available at the NRS website to explain them.

LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York got a $250,000 grant from the MetLife Foundation earlier this year to offer professional development workshops and technical assistance using contextualized approaches.  Through the college's GED Bridge to College and Careers Program, educators nationwide can get help from LaGuardia to bring effective, innovative GED teaching into their classes.  For information contact Amy Dalsimer at adalsimer@lagcc.cuny.edu.

Immigration Policy and Less-Skilled Workers in the United States (January 2011) was prepared by labor market analyst Harry J. Holzer for the Migration Policy Institute.  It examines multiple factors having to do with the economic impact of admitting and retaining immigrant workers in the U.S. and concludes that benefits to consumers, employers, and even native-born lower skilled workers, are on balance significantly positive.  This report should be must reading for anyone who wants to understand this highly complex subject.  Several caveats are offered on next steps, but the report suggests several future reform directions, including incentives for employers and immigrants to use newly legalized routes and to choose legal over illegal paths of entry.

LI-RAEN, the Long Island Regional Adult Education Network of the New York State Education Department, is making available a lengthy resource document in four parts based on a functional context education workshop given by researcher Tom Sticht in January 2012.  It is replete with information and publication references on functional context learning, including work done for the military by Mr. Sticht.  The document is titled Celebrating 46 Years of the Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) of the United States of America/Our Nation's Third Branch of Public Education (1966-2012).    

A DECADE INTO THE 21st CENTURY,  

AMERICA FACES A CHOICE  

We can invest in the basic education and skills of our workforce and remain competitive
in today's global economy or we can continue to overlook glaring evidence
and move further down the path to decline

 
Every candidate is talking about creating jobs but few are saying that too many people don't have the skills and training to fill them.  But the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy is. 

CAAL was founded in 2001 and we've spent the past 11 years working to move adult literacy and workforce skills into the mainstream.  A look at our list of publications alone will give you a good sense of the scope and depth of our work (www.caalusa.org/publications.html).  Note especially reach Higher, America,the work of the nonpartisan blue-ribbon Commission we formed with the Dollar General Corporation in the lead funding role.  We're proud to be one of the national leadership groups working to move things in the right direction.  And we're gratified to see that partly because of what we do, change is in motion across the country.

But so much remains to be done.  CAAL is a small nonprofit group with a very small staff.  It exists entirely on grants and individual donations. There is little new grant money in this tight economy, so individual donations are more important than ever.  Please consider a tax-exempt donation at this time and help by passing this issue along to your friends and urging their support.

You can donate online by clicking the Donate Now button below or you can mail a check to CAAL, c/o Gail Spangenberg, 1221 Avenue of the Americas - 44th Fl., New York, NY 10020.

 

 DONATE NOW 

Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy ~ 1221 Avenue of Americas ~ 44th Fl ~ New York, NY 10020

Tel. 212-512-22363 ~ Fax. 212-512-2610 ~ www.caalusa.org