Challenge 1 (Continued): A stronger K-12 system for a better-educated workforce.
Twice as many young learners entering RI's Adult Education system need Adult Basic Education (ABE), equivalent to grades K-8, as its neighbors.
Ensuring rock-solid K-8 skills among RI's young people provides a sturdy foundation for further education, perhaps easing the need for Adult Education later on. Even with the large number of foreign-born persons in RI, the demand for basic academic skills greatly dwarfs the demand for English-language skills.
High-school dropouts may believe they will "just go get a GED" without understanding the distance between their current education level and the demands of college readiness or the GED, especially the new one. That distance is not clear to them, nor perhaps to those counseling them.
Data source: National Council of State Directors of Adult Education, Legislator's Resource Books, 2012, 2013, 2014.
