Workforce Report

The National Commission on Adult Literacy

published its final report, Reach Higher America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce, in June, 2008.

REACH HIGHER, AMERICA, the report of the National Commission on Adult Literacy, was released at a public event in Washington, DC, on June 26. The report documents the adult education and skills crisis facing American workers, proposes a fundamentally new approach to adult basic education and workforce skills preparation in America, and lays out the fiscal and social benefits that will result from substantially increased public expenditures for programs and services. Focus is on the need of the unemployed, low-skilled incumbent workers, immigrants with limited or no English, parents or caregivers with low basic skills, incarcerated adults, high school dropouts, and high school graduates not adequately prepared for college.

Among other things, the Commission recommends transforming the current system, which reaches about 3 million adults annually, into an adult education and workforce skills system with the capacity to enroll 20 million adults by the year 2020 and a mission of moving adults to readiness for postsecondary education and job training. The report offers a kind of “domestic Marshall plan” for meeting workforce education needs-including bold recommendations for state government, business and labor, philanthropy, and the general public. A clear message of the report is that unless the nation gives much higher priority to the basic educational needs of the workforce-adults 16 and older beyond the reach of the schools-America’s standard of living, its status as a leading world power, and its very social fabric will be further eroded. This important report and various related materials are available in PDF from the Commission’s website.

Instructions are given there for purchase of hard copies.

Virginia Fact Sheet

STATS for Virginia

This comprehensive site from STATS Indiana offers demographic profiles of USA states and counties. Click here to enter the page, then select Virginia from the drop down menu. You may then select a particular county. The information below is for Virginia. Note that our national rankings are included, but they are not live links. You will need to go to the site for additional information.

Family Literacy

Family Factors Critical to Closing the Achievement Gap

A press release announcing the 2007 ETS report: The Family, America’s Smallest School, summarizes important statistical information about developmental reading:

The Family: America’s Smallest School examines the family and home experiences that influence children’s learning. Factors include single parent families, poverty and resources, parents talking and reading to children, quality day care, and parental involvement in school. The report was written by Paul E. Barton and Richard J. Coley of ETS’s Policy Information Center. It includes a preface and endorsement by Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League.

“When parents, teachers and schools work together to support learning, students do better in school and stay in school longer,” says Barton. “Our analysis shows that factors like single-parent families, parents reading to children, hours spent watching television and school absences, when combined, account for about two-thirds of the large differences among states in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores.”

Findings in the report show that:

• Thirty-two percent of U.S. children live in single-parent homes, up from 23% in 1980.
• Thirty-three percent of children live in families in which no parent has a full-time, year-round job.
• By age 4, children of professional families hear 35 million more words than children of parents on welfare.
• Half of the nation’s two-year-olds are in some kind of regular day care. Seventy-five percent are in center-based day care rated of medium- or low-quality.
• A comparison of eighth-graders in 45 countries found that U.S. students spend less time reading books for enjoyment — and more time watching television and videos —than students in many other countries.

Other highlights from the report include:

• Forty-four percent of births to women under 30 are out-of-wedlock.
• Nationally, 11 percent of all households are “food insecure.” The rate for female-headed households is triple the rate for married families.
• Sixty-two percent of high SES kindergartners are read to every day by their parents, compared to 36 percent of kindergartners from low SES groups.
• One in five students misses three days or more of school a month. The United States ranked 25th of 45 countries in students’ school attendance.

“The important educational role of parents is often overlooked in our local, state, and national discussions about raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps,” notes Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, former president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and former mayor of New Orleans.

Download the full report, “The Family: America’s Smallest School,” for free at www.ets.org/familyreport. Purchase copies for $15 (prepaid) by writing to the Policy Information Center, ETS, MS 19-R, Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541-0001; by calling (609) 734-5949; or by sending an e-mail to pic@ets.org.

About ETS

ETS celebrates a 60-year history of advancing quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services for all people worldwide. Additional information is available at www.ets.org.

Graduation/Drop Out Rates

State Graduation Rates 2008

Dear Educator:

It’s here! The Diplomas Count 2008: School to College has arrived. This third annual report, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is now available online at edweek.org. During our edweek.org Open House, you can access the whole report for FREE! The report explores the rapid growth of state-level P-16 councils and how they seek to create a more seamless schooling continuum that prepares students from preschool through college and beyond for life, work, and further education. While you’re at it, be sure to check out our other benchmark reports, Quality Counts and Technology Counts.
Some things you shouldn’t miss in this year’s Diplomas Count:
Interactive media that will allow you to review:

• State Graduation Briefs

• Interactive maps of graduation rates at District, State, and National levels as well as by Congressional District

• Feature stories and analyses such as:

• P-16 Councils Bring All Tiers of Education to the Table

• The ‘Three A’s’ of Successful P-16 Reform

• States Notch Slow, Steady Progress Toward Consistent Graduation Goals

• And much more!

Our data tables and charts for historical graduation rates, ranked graduation rates for the 50 largest school districts, and the projection of graduates and non-graduates for 2008. You can download these right now and refer to them at your convenience.
Remember, our doors will be wide open through June 10. That means you’ll have access to everything our premium subscribers see daily for only a week!

To order extra copies of Diplomas Counts 2008, simply go online or call 800-788-5692.
Tell your colleagues about the complete, FREE access to Diplomas Count and our Open House! – Ends June 10, 2008
See you there,
Virginia B. Edwards
Editor and Publisher