ACT Ready for Work
Podcast Episode 30

Federally funded Adult Basic Education (ABE) helps more than a million and half adults each year earn a high school equivalency, increase basic and employability skills, or improve their English language proficiency. The National Reporting Service governs the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRSAE) inside Adult Ed. Through an accountability and performance system of Educational Functioning Levels and Measurable Skill Gains, these standards guide learning and assessment in Adult Ed.

A group of nine subject matter experts in Adult Education formed a panel to align the CCRSAE to the benchmarks of WorkKeys. The panelists represent four states across the South, Midwest, and Northeast regions of the U.S. Results of the study help demonstrate a crosswalk with the Educational Functional Levels to help ABE programs optimize performance as working learners meet both career and education goals. The report is available now. 

Enhancing the detail of the crosswalk are best practices from the Mississippi Community College Board, Hagerstown Community College in Maryland, and Metropolitan Community College of Omaha, Nebraska. Each guest contributes their perspectives on the importance of the alignment work and how it helps improve ABE programming. The panelists share what they gained in unique insights from the research that also helps demystify Strength of Link. Episode 30 concludes with tips to read and interpret the crosswalk along with a briefing on the new Move Ahead with Adult Ed campaign.