1. The State of Adult Education in Georgia
Beverly E. Smith – Assistant Commissioner
Technical College System of Georgia Office of Adult Education

2. Transformational Shifts in Adult Education
2011 – GED® test started transition from paper to computer platform.
2014 – New GED® test released.
2016 – New Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) legislation

3. What is the Workforce Investment & Opportunity Act (WIOA)?
Four agencies with one common set of goals

4. Adult Education Mission Statement
“ To build a workforce for Georgia and a future for families.”

5. Target Audience
Georgia has 1.1 million residents age 18 who do not have a high school or GED® diploma.
-American Community Survey, 5-year Estimates ( )
*Down from 1.2 million residents in the previous 5-year estimates survey.

6. Adult Education in Georgia – FY16
42,900 students served in TCSG Adult Education program.
31 Service Delivery Areas (SDA) funded by state/federal grants.
Grantees:
All TCSG colleges;
3 School Districts (Atlanta , Cobb and Clayton County Public Schools);
5 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs);
1 USG college (Bainbridge State College).
Over 450 instructional sites serving Georgia’s 159 counties… at no cost to the student!!
88 Testing Centers
65 Public Sites.
33 Mobile Sites (serving Youth Challenge and corrections).
89 Certified Literate Community Programs
37 counties / 1 city – Certified Literate Communities.
50 counties / 1 city – Certified Literate Community Participants.

7. Georgia’s Adult Education Support Team
Instructional Staff:
1,188 Instructors: 207 full-time (17%) and 981 part-time (83%)
2,123 volunteers from community organizations (CLCP)
442 instructor volunteers directly supporting local grantees
System Office Staff Support:
Adult Education – 15 employees (14 full-time and 1 part-time)
GED® Staff ** - 12 employees (6 full-time and 6 part-time)
Total Funding: $33.3 m
$16.6 m Federal
$13.6 m State
$1.2 m Local Programs
$2.4 m Certified Literate Community Program (CLCP)
**The State GED® Testing Office is self-funded by test fees and revenue from duplicate transcript/diploma fees!

8. Georgia - Student Profile
Students in TCSG approved adult education programs initially assess at the following levels:
8% - Adult Secondary Education (ASE) level, i.e. high school
69% - Adult Basic Education (ABE) level, i.e. primary/middle school
23% - English as a Second Language (ESL)
*In a data review, students average 107 hours of instruction to receive a GED® diploma.
Age Breakdown
16-18 years old: 16%
19-24 years old: 26%
25-44 years old: 42%
45-59 years old: 13%
60 years & older: 3%
Gender
43% Male
57% Female
Race
30% White
42% Black
17% Hispanic/Latino
Institutionalized in Corrections
3,438 Adult Ed Students
(students of TCSG grantees only)

9. Challenges Increasing NRS targets.
Lack of teacher confidence due to fear of the unknown on the 2014 GED® test.
Decline in GED® graduates as a result of the new test.
Need for CLCPs in additional counties.
Lack of direction from Washington on the new WIOA legislation.

10. Strategy Declaration – “The Year of the Teacher”
PD created new regional classes focusing on the GED test, ELL/EL Civics, Career Pathways, and Career and College Readiness Standards
CLCPs leveraged local resources to support adult education providers
Testing centers added sites and expanded hours for the public and corrections
Instructional Services produced new tools to assist Program Administrators manage their programs more efficiently
GED Testing Service announced cut-score change in January 2016
Serena Walker assumed the lead for the new WIOA legislation

11. The Results
1181 Adult Education instructors and leaders attended professional development training for a total of 13,450 hours of participation.
For FY16, the AE programs met or exceeded 10 of the 11 NRS educational gains bench marks.
CLCP efforts:
Secured $2.4 million for literacy; plus in-kind resources and contributions in excess of $2.9 million.
Provided Classroom space valued at $682,000 for Adult Education classes.
Funding for Adult Education teacher salaries totaled over $381,000.
Local CLCPs sponsored 58 Adult Education class attendance incentives.
Awarded 1,682 GED® Testing scholarships raising $112,598 for the scholarship monies.
Awarded 79 post-secondary scholarships; raising $29,563 in scholarship monies.
2,123 volunteers donated 54,928 hours of service and 442 tutors provided 46,457 hours of volunteer tutoring. 

12. Results (continued)
Over 2,200 GED® test-takers received credentials as a result of the passing score change announced by GEDTS in January 2016.
The adult education GED® pass rate runs between 80-85% compared to the state rate of 50-65%.
GED® graduates are continuing to increase.
GED® GRADUATES
Cut-Score change
# Graduates
Month

13. Success - The Literacy Rate in Georgia is Improving!!
Georgia no longer has 36 counties (marked in yellow and red) where 30% or more of the adult population does not have a High School education. Now there are only 13 “red” counties!!
-American Community Survey, 5-year Estimates ( )

14. Georgia’s Adult Education – On the Cutting Edge

15. Adult Education Goals FY17
Increase enrollment by 15%.
Increase test-takers by 20%.
Increase GED graduates by 15%.
Ensure adult education programs partner with CLCPs.
Increase the number of CLCP communities.
and last but not least…..

16. 6. Successful implementation of WIOA
Office of
Adult Education
Office of
Vocational Rehabilitation
Department of Labor
Department of
Health and Human Services