Frequently Asked Questions about Maryland’s Adult and Correctional Education Programs

Please click on the document to the right to see answers to several frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Maryland's Adult and Correctional Education Programs.

Maryland Adult Education Program
Quick Facts FY07

Click on the Fact Sheet to the right for information about the students served by the Maryland Adult Education and Literacy Program operated by the Maryland State Department of Education. It also includes the most recent information about the program results.

Adult Basic Education
and Literacy
Maryland Leading the Way

See what the Maryland State Department of Education’s adult literacy program is doing in outstanding partnerships for literacy in Maryland.

MSDE Collaborations and Initiatives with Adult Education and Family Literacy Services

Please click on the document at right to read about the collaborations and initiatives that the adult education program supports at MSDE.

Maryland Adult Literacy Resource Center

Click on the Maryland Adult Literacy Resource Center bookmark to see the Center services that are available to all Marylanders. The Center supports adult literacy teachers and programs statewide. Center services also connect to the National Institute for Literacy LINCS program.

GED Testing Program
FY 07 Quick Facts

Click on the image to the right for information on Maryland’s GED Testing Office and FY 07 performance. The GED Tests meet national standards established by the American Council of Education for high school completion. Candidates who pass the GED Tests are awarded a Maryland High School Diploma by examination. For more information on the GED, go to www.gogedgo.org and click on GED.

Maryland High School Diploma Options for Adults - GED Tests

Click on the Maryland GED Program brochure to find out about this diploma option.

For more information on the GED, go to www.gogedgo.org and click on GED.

Maryland High School Diploma Options for Adults
- External Diploma Program (EDP)

Click on the Maryland EDP Program brochure to find out about this diploma option.

Maryland GED-i Online Preparation Class

Please click on the document at right to read about the new online GED preparation classes available through MSDE.

What People Are Saying – Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education

Please click on the document at right to read what the U.S. Department of Education says about MSDE's successful marketing campaign to increase enrollment in the adult education program.

Accountability
Maryland’s Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) Program
FY 07 Performance

Click on the chart to the right to see Maryland’s AEL performance on the national performance targets established by the US Department of Education. The adult education and literacy program has met its progressively higher performance targets eight consecutive years under Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The adult education program and its accountability system received The Federal Office of Budget and Management (OMB) highest possible performance rating. No other WIA programs received this rating.

Maryland’s 35 local adult education grantees and MSDE work to increase student achievement and to meet national performance targets. Data must be collected and reported annually to the US Department of Education’s National Reporting System. MD’s AEL performance has helped to bring $2.8 Million in federal performance incentive funds into the state. Federal incentive funds have helped improve MD’s AEL programs by:

Adult Literacy in Maryland: Results from the 2003 State Assessment of Adult Literacy (SAAL)

The comprehensive Maryland SAAL report examines the relationship between literacy and demographic characteristics, explores how literacy varies across different educational experiences, examines how the literacy of Maryland adults varies by employment and earnings, and explores the relationship between literacy practices in the home and adult literacy. This report also examines the relationship between literacy and key measures of community and civic participation: voting, volunteering and staying informed about public affairs and the government.

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL): A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st Century: Average Prose and Document Literacy Scores Rise for Blacks and Asians but Decrease among Hispanics

This report provides a “first look” at the highlights from the NAAL which assessed literacy skill levels of the nation’s adults in 2003. It examines the changes in adult literacy performance between 1992 and 2003 and looks at the relationship between literacy and a variety of background characteristics, including gender, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment.

Literacy in Everyday Life presents comprehensive findings of the 2003 NAAL on the literacy of American adults age 16 and older and the changes in their performance since 1992. This report also examines the relationship between literacy and different background characteristics including education and employment. It examines the relationship between educational attainment and literacy and the relationship between literacy and adult education, including basic skills classes, English as a second language classes, and information technology certification; as well as the relationship between literacy and employment status, occupation, weekly wage or salary, job training, and participation in public assistance programs. The report also describes how parents, grandparents, and guardians at different literacy levels interact with the children living in their homes around issues related to literacy and school. Finally, the report describes how adults at different literacy levels participate in government and community affairs.

The Health Literacy of America's Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy

The Health Literacy report describes how health literacy varies across the population and examines relationships between health literacy and background variables, such as educational attainment, age, and race/ethnicity. It also provides a summary of the relationship between health literacy and preventive health practices and the sources of health information used by adults.

Literacy Behind Bars: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey

Literacy Behind Bars examines the changes in literacy among incarcerated adults between 1992 and 2003. It compares the literacy of adults in prison with adults living in households and also compares literacy across groups of prison inmates with different characteristics, including race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, age, language spoken before starting school, and parents’ educational attainment. The report looks at the relationship between literacy, education, and job training, Additionally, the report examines the relationship between literacy and experiences in prison other than education; as well as the relationship between literacy, criminal history, and current offense.