Today, Rachel Pleasants, senior project manager at Jobs for the Future, shares the inside scoop on a national effort to restructure adult basic education, another part of the postsecondary pipeline that shares some characteristics—and students—with developmental education programs.
Accelerating Opportunity, an initiative managed by Jobs for the Future, has ambitious goals: to change the way adult basic education (ABE) is structured and delivered at the state and college levels so that substantially more low-skilled adults get the education and credentials they need to access family-supporting careers. Building on Washington’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program and the Breaking Through initiative, Accelerating Opportunity promotes the development of integrated pathway models that combine ABE with career and technical training.
It’s clear that postsecondary credentials are essential for accessing jobs that pay a living wage, but these credentials are out of reach for many adults without a high school diploma or GED. Low-skilled adults seeking to advance their education and career face numerous barriers to success, including a lack of career guidance and disconnected educational systems. Like developmental education students, ABE students often find themselves in long remedial sequences, with very few ultimately transitioning to postsecondary credit-bearing programs.
Through Accelerating Opportunity, JFF and our partners and funders aim to address the systemic barriers that prevent low-skilled adults from achieving their goals. We believe that in order for this to happen, states and their colleges have to focus on three areas: developing career pathways, shifting their culture to one that views ABE as an important part of the postsecondary pipeline, and building in plans for scale and sustainability. This is a major undertaking that includes changes in policy as well as practice. And not only are we asking states and colleges to engage in systems change, we are asking them to do it at scale: each implementation state in the initiative (five so far) has committed to awarding at least 3,600 credentials to students in the target population within three years.
The initiative began with a one-year design phase; in November 2011, the leadership team selected Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina to move into the implementation phase. In May 2012, we added Louisiana as a fifth state. Across these five states more than forty colleges are developing and implementing integrated pathways.
Far from being deterred from the ambitious goals set out by Jobs for the Future along with its funders and partners, the states have embraced the Accelerating Opportunity vision and are already producing results. Less than a year into the implementation work, nearly all the participating colleges have pathway programs in place, enrolling a total of more than 800 students. Students and faculty are beginning to see the benefits of an integrated pathway approach and the team teaching model. Partnerships between ABE, career and technical education, the workforce system, and TANF agencies are being developed and strengthened. Some states have even begun to move toward policy changes. In Illinois, for example, ABE outcomes, including transition to postsecondary, is now part of the state’s performance funding formula. In Kansas, the eligibility criteria of a state scholarship fund have been revamped to better target AO students.
There are still many challenges ahead for the five states, including funding (especially given the loss of Pell’s Ability to Benefit provision), recruitment, professional development, and stakeholder engagement. But we see a remarkable commitment on the part of state and college leaders to developing the types of pathways and structures that will enable many more low skilled-adults to access and succeed in postsecondary training. For example, the governors in many of the implementation states have supported JFF and other national organizations in advocating for the inclusion of an exception to the Ability to Benefit change for students enrolled in career pathway programs.
There is a growing national emphasis on career pathway development and an increasing awareness of the importance of postsecondary education, and the goals of Accelerating Opportunity are aligned with these national trends. JFF and our partners and funders believe that Accelerating Opportunity has the potential to raise the profile of adult basic education, ensure its inclusion in the college completion agenda, and ultimately provide thousands of adults with access to economic opportunity. In all this work, there is shared commitment with other national initiatives like Achieving the Dream and DEI as well as collaboration and peer learning toward a shared goal: accelerating progress for all students toward postsecondary credentials.
Accelerating Opportunity, an initiative managed by Jobs for the Future, has ambitious goals: to change the way adult basic education (ABE) is structured and delivered at the state and college levels so that substantially more low-skilled adults get the education and credentials they need to access family-supporting careers. Building on Washington’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program and the Breaking Through initiative, Accelerating Opportunity promotes the development of integrated pathway models that combine ABE with career and technical training.
It’s clear that postsecondary credentials are essential for accessing jobs that pay a living wage, but these credentials are out of reach for many adults without a high school diploma or GED. Low-skilled adults seeking to advance their education and career face numerous barriers to success, including a lack of career guidance and disconnected educational systems. Like developmental education students, ABE students often find themselves in long remedial sequences, with very few ultimately transitioning to postsecondary credit-bearing programs.
Through Accelerating Opportunity, JFF and our partners and funders aim to address the systemic barriers that prevent low-skilled adults from achieving their goals. We believe that in order for this to happen, states and their colleges have to focus on three areas: developing career pathways, shifting their culture to one that views ABE as an important part of the postsecondary pipeline, and building in plans for scale and sustainability. This is a major undertaking that includes changes in policy as well as practice. And not only are we asking states and colleges to engage in systems change, we are asking them to do it at scale: each implementation state in the initiative (five so far) has committed to awarding at least 3,600 credentials to students in the target population within three years.
The initiative began with a one-year design phase; in November 2011, the leadership team selected Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina to move into the implementation phase. In May 2012, we added Louisiana as a fifth state. Across these five states more than forty colleges are developing and implementing integrated pathways.
Far from being deterred from the ambitious goals set out by Jobs for the Future along with its funders and partners, the states have embraced the Accelerating Opportunity vision and are already producing results. Less than a year into the implementation work, nearly all the participating colleges have pathway programs in place, enrolling a total of more than 800 students. Students and faculty are beginning to see the benefits of an integrated pathway approach and the team teaching model. Partnerships between ABE, career and technical education, the workforce system, and TANF agencies are being developed and strengthened. Some states have even begun to move toward policy changes. In Illinois, for example, ABE outcomes, including transition to postsecondary, is now part of the state’s performance funding formula. In Kansas, the eligibility criteria of a state scholarship fund have been revamped to better target AO students.
There are still many challenges ahead for the five states, including funding (especially given the loss of Pell’s Ability to Benefit provision), recruitment, professional development, and stakeholder engagement. But we see a remarkable commitment on the part of state and college leaders to developing the types of pathways and structures that will enable many more low skilled-adults to access and succeed in postsecondary training. For example, the governors in many of the implementation states have supported JFF and other national organizations in advocating for the inclusion of an exception to the Ability to Benefit change for students enrolled in career pathway programs.
There is a growing national emphasis on career pathway development and an increasing awareness of the importance of postsecondary education, and the goals of Accelerating Opportunity are aligned with these national trends. JFF and our partners and funders believe that Accelerating Opportunity has the potential to raise the profile of adult basic education, ensure its inclusion in the college completion agenda, and ultimately provide thousands of adults with access to economic opportunity. In all this work, there is shared commitment with other national initiatives like Achieving the Dream and DEI as well as collaboration and peer learning toward a shared goal: accelerating progress for all students toward postsecondary credentials.
