What are the benefits of adult basic skills Program Participation?
"Participants in ABS programs experience significant, and, in some cases, substantial increases in long-term educational and economic outcomes."
[OCTAE Connection - Issue 227 - March 26, 2015]
This is the overall conclusion drawn by researchers following an analysis of data gathered through Portland State University's Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), part of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), which ended in 2007.
Other important takeaways from this analysis [OCTAE Connection - Issue 227 - March 26, 2015]:
- The enhanced outcomes require an average of 100 or more cumulative hours of program attendance.
- The enhanced outcomes do not typically appear until several years following program participation.
- The income premiums to ABS program participation average $10,000 per year, in 2013 dollars.
- The overall GED attainment rate is estimated to have risen from 16 percent to 36 percent because of ABS program participation. ABS programs appeared to be effective “on-ramps” into postsecondary education, but additional supports are likely needed for completion.
For more information, see the five following briefs, commissioned by OCTAE:
- The Impact of ABS Program Participation on Long-Term Economic Outcomes: http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ABS_EconomicOutcomes.pdf
- The Impact of ABS Program Participation on Long-Term Literacy Growth: http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ABS_LiteracyGrowth.pdf
- The Impact of ABS Program Participation on Long-Term GED Attainment: http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ABS_GED.pdf
- The Impact of ABS Program Participation on Long-Term Postsecondary Engagement: http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ABS_Postsecondary.pdf
- The Impact of ABS Program Participation on Voting: http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ABS_Voting.pdf
