Barbara Baran Senior Fellow California Budget Project

 Growing importance of basic skills education in California.  Growing agreement on what’s broken and what works.  Significant decline in resources.

Challenge and Opportunity High stakes Serious danger Real opportunity

 Who is the California Budget Project?  Why look at California’s basic skills system?  What is the At a Crossroads series?

 Two institutions share primary responsibility: Adult Education and CCCs, credit and noncredit.  Together, they served roughly 1.5 million students a year.  Adult Education served 63% of all basic skills students.  About half CCC basic skills students are in the credit division and about half in noncredit.

 Most basic skill students are ESL students: 65% of AEP students vs. 40% of CCC basic skills students.  60% Latino; 17% Asian; 14% white.  Almost 60% of CCC basic skills students are 25 or younger vs. 30 percent of Adult Education students who are 24 or younger.

 Some basic skills students make significant progress but most make minimal progress over several years; many make no progress.  Few students move from Adult Education or noncredit CCC courses to credit academic and vocational courses.  In the CCCs, basic skills students significantly less likely to achieve degree, certificate, or transfer.

Outcomes Many students become discouraged and drop out.

 No clear state priorities for its overall investment in basic skills education.  Little integration or coordination among basic skills programs both across and within institutions.  Insufficient funding.  No comprehensive data system to effectively guide administrators and policymakers.

 Assessment and placement policies inconsistent across programs/institutions and often insufficiently diagnostic.  Many programs fail to employ the most effective program design and instructional approaches.  Few students get the range of supportive services they need to succeed.  Limited professional development opportunities for faculty.

 Many innovative efforts underway.  Adult Education new strategic plan incorporates many key principles.  One example: Minnesota FastTRAC  Adult education provided leadership.  Links adult education and community college credit division. Integrated instruction.  Serves students as low as 6 th grade level without high school or GED.  Links to One Stops.

 Commitment  Integration  Acceleration  Accountability

 California should view its Adult Education Program and community college programs as components of a common effort and set goals for the system as a whole.  California’s basic skills system should transition increasing numbers of individuals into postsecondary education or jobs with opportunities for advancement, and increase the share of basic skills students who complete a certificate, degree, or transfer to a four-year college or university.

 California should reconfigure the use of existing resources to support these goals and invest in models that bring together multiple funding streams.  Dedicated state funding for basic skills education in both the Adult Education Program and CCC should be restored and linked to these goals.

 California should elevate the importance of basic skills and mandate that the CCCs and Adult Education Program begin to integrate their programs through well-coordinated local and regional networks.  California should pilot the development of “gateway” centers that are partnerships among the Adult Education Program, CCCs, and other stakeholders.

ASSESSMENT AND PLACEMENT  Basic skill students should receive assessment on entry at any point in the system and a tailored educational plan.  The Adult Education Program and CCCs should better align their assessment instruments. INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES  Both the CCCs and Adult Education Program should implement instructional practices that are student- centered, provide peer support, accelerate the learning process, and contextualize basic skills instruction.

STUDENT SUPPORT  California should develop financial aid policies that better target and support underprepared students.  California should expand supportive services for underprepared students. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT  The Adult Education Program and CCC should partner to provide basic skills instructions regular opportunities and incentives for professional development.

 California needs to implement an accountability framework for all basic skills programs and develop a comprehensive, integrated data system.

 Serious barriers to reform but serious need also.  We know what works  Integrated institutions and programs;  Policies and pedagogies that support and accelerate student progress; and  Committed state policymakers.

Critical step is overcoming institutional and political inertia.