ABSTRACT
Since 2000, approximately 2.7 million adults have participated annually in adult basic education (ABE) programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998. Close to 40 percent had reading skills below the ninth-grade level upon enrolling in ABE programs, and half of these individuals were categorized as low-level learners-scoring at the zero to sixth-grade equivalence on a standardized literacy test or placed in one of the fi rst three levels of the National Reporting System (Beginning Literacy, Beginning Basic Education, and Low-Intermediate Basic Education) (U.S. Department of Education, 2002, 2006). While most adults with low literacy and numeracy enroll in ABE programs with the intent of earning a General Educational Development (GED) credential, obtaining employment, or improving their status in their current job, many are likely to have reading skills below the level needed to achieve their goals. As the number of adults in ABE programs with low literacy and numeracy has remained steady, there has been an increased interest among federal agencies in understanding the types of reading instruction that are provided to adults in ABE programs and the extent to which adults improve their reading skills as a result of their participation in these services.
