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TO: Members of the State Board of Education
FROM: Nancy S. Grasmick
DATE: May 24 - 25, 2005
SUBJECT: Superintendent's Panel on Excellence in Adult Education
PURPOSE
The purpose is to brief the State Board on the work of the Superintendent's Panel on Excellence in Adult Education in Maryland and to share preliminary recommendations.
BACKGROUND
There are over 600,000 out of school youth and adults without a high school diploma in Maryland. In addition, there are approximately 300,000 individuals who either do not speak English or speak it very poorly. Historically, Maryland has had one of the lowest state investments in adult education. Among Eastern seaboard states, Maryland ranks 16th out of 18 states, exceeding only Rhode Island and New Hampshire in the state investment in the education of its least educated adults. In per student state investment, Maryland is last. These out of school youth and adults are the parents of children who enter school lacking the readiness to be successful and they are the workers that will determine our state's ability to compete in the global economy.
A Task Force to Study Adult Education was created by the 2001 Maryland General Assembly to study adult education services in Maryland. The charge included reporting to the General Assembly on the need for services, the impact on economic development, existing levels of service, current funding, and Maryland's comparison to other states. The Task Force presented their report, Literacy Works: Moving from the Margins to the Mainstream, to the General Assembly for the 2002 session. They recommended:
- Significantly increasing public and private investment in the adult education system;
- Targeting new resources to the improvement of adult education outcomes;
- Enhancing accountability to increase return on investment; and
- Improving services for the incarcerated and probationers.
Following the Task Force there were several efforts to increase state funding for adult education. As a result of these efforts, $1.2M was included for adult education in the Bridge to Excellence Act. In spite of this increase, there are currently 4,000 to 5,000 individuals on waiting lists for services and only 5% of the target population is being served. The 2005 General Assembly passed a bill to increase funding by $1.5M for FY 07, and to continue the funding in FY 08. While this funding may ameliorate the pressure from the waiting list, more systemic issues remain to be addressed. These include the need for a long term investment in adult education at a sufficient level to enroll more than 5% of the target population, and to ensure that programs have the resources for students to achieve results.
Dr. Grasmick has established a Superintendent's Panel on Excellence in Adult Education, to provide recommendations to ensure that adult education programs and students have sufficient resources to meet national and state student achievement standards. The Panel, led by Mr. Ed Hale, Sr., CEO of 1st Mariner Bank, and comprised of leaders from the business community, government, community organizations, higher education, and finance, used a standards-based finance approach to education to develop preliminary recommendations to ensure that Maryland's adult students achieve.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Panel, modeling much of its process on the established Thornton model, reviewed the research on adult education to identify the elements that determine student success. The Panel also reviewed data on the target population and the demand for services. In addition, they examined the performance and funding of the adult education program at a county, state, regional, and national level. The Panel also considered data on the return on investment for adult education and the need to continue to focus on accountability.
The Panel looked at approaches to adult education reform in other states, particularly Massachusetts. With the assistance of a Prototype Team of highly experienced adult education practioners, and using state data from the Maryland Literacy Works Information System, the Panel created a prototype program which reflected the characteristics of Maryland students and was designed to ensure student achievement. After developing the costs necessary to assure success for the prototype program, the Panel developed a funding model using an FTE approach.
The Panel has created a model for funding adult education which reinforces the state and local education partnership. The model takes into consideration numerous factors ensuring adequate resources for students to achieve, regardless of where they live or the organization they access to receive services. The model also provides additional weight to students with special characteristics, such as the preliterate ESL student.
The Panel is beginning a public engagement process to further refine their recommendations. A final report will be released in early fall.
ACTION
No action is required. |
