ABSTRACT
A major function of adult education systems is to provide instruction to help adults improve their literacy and numeracy skills. The measure of these programs’ success is generally taken to be the extent to which adults’ skills do improve over time. The rationale for investments in adult education is often framed in terms of the favorable economic and social consequences of skill development (Kirsch, Braun, Yamamoto, & Sum, 2007; Moser, 1999; Murray, this volume). Although adult programs are frequently evaluated and sometimes held accountable in terms of their students’ skill improvement, remarkably little is known about the measured development of literacy and numeracy abilities in adult life.
