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Focus On Basics

Volume 6, Issue D ::: February 04

BLACKBOARD



Web Resources
A quick overview of transition to college programs can be found on the American Connects web site under research, promising practices. Go to www.americaconnects.net/research/ The "Noteworthy Practices Brief" includes ESOL-to-ABE and College Transition and Adult Secondary Education to College Transitions, and highlights program elements that contribute to the success of each.

Massachusetts' Curriculum Frameworks include a section on the math needed for postsecondary education. Go to www.doe.mass.edu/acls/frameworks/mathnum.pdf. Read through the table of contents and beginning sections, then scroll down to page 81 for the content standards. 

"Grassroots to Graduation: Low-Income Women Accessing Higher Education" is an evaluation by the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women of the effectiveness and support systems of 21 college access programs serving low-income individuals. Available at www.wihed.org/sections/22356.html, the report provides good information for people interested in designing college access programs.

Students interested in transitioning into a health career might want to explore some of the student resources on the National Institute for Literacy's LINCS Health and Literacy Special Collection at www.worlded.org/us/health/lincs. Students can go to MEDLINEplus and use interactive tutorials to investigate the signs, symptoms, and treatment of more than 165 health conditions. 

To build math skills, students can visit the National Institute for Literacy's LINCS Science & Numeracy Special Collection http:/literacynet.org/sciencelincs and link to A+Math, which offers drills, practice, and games in basic number operations. To learn about science, heredity and genetics, students can link to Explore Science. 

Financial aid is a must is one of the findings of a study done by the Institute for Higher Education Policy. "Getting Through College: Voices of Low-Income and Minority Students in New England" is a rich resource for transition programs. It provides a snapshot of how low-income and minority students in New England feel about obstacles they face and what works to enable them to persist in postsecondary education. It can be downloaded from www.ihep.com/Pubs/PDF/Nelliemae.pdf 

Transportation: Necessary in a Transition
(Research Notes)
While this issue of Focus on Basics focuses on the transition from adult basic education to postsecondary education, another important transition is the transition to employment. Just as transportation is considered an important factor in enabling learners to persist in school, so, too, is transportation often a factor in successful employment. Graduate student Kerri Sullivan used data from NCSALL's Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSALs) to examine the role of car usage in employment outcomes such as employment status, average weekly wages, and weeks worked per year. She found that car ownership is an important employment tool for adults of low educational attainment in Portland, OR, even in the context of other factors such as social networks/resources (social capital) and literacy skills (human capital). To read her full study, go to http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu.

Join the National ABE-to-College Transition Network
Commencing In May 2004

The National ABE-to-College Transition Network will support ABE staff, programs, and states in establishing and strengthening ABE-to-college transition services through technical assistance, professional development, collegial sharing, advocacy, and increased visibility for this critical sector of the adult basic education system. The Network is intended for anyone interested in helping GED and EDP/ADP graduates and other nontraditional adult learners gain access to, prepare for, and succeed in postsecondary education. The Network will provide a forum for learning and dialogue among practitioners, policy makers, staff development providers, and researchers. Basic membership is free and gains members access to monthly news bulletins, a web site with relevant resources, and an electronic discussion list. The Network is sponsored and operated by World Education's New England Literacy Resource Center, home of the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Network partners include the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Join the Network by going to www.collegetransition.org/ctnetwork. The web site will be online by May 2004, but you can sign up now.

Updated 7/27/07 :: Copyright © 2005 NCSALL