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The role of adult education in sustaining economic growth and expanding opportunity in Massachusetts was explored. The analysis focused on the new basic skills needed for a new economy, groups lacking the new basic skills, the demand for adult basic education (ABE), funding for ABE, building basic skills through adult education, ABE's costs and benefits, and moving toward an integrated job training and ABE system. The following major challenges to building workers' skills were identified: (1) a language challenge; (2) an education credential challenge; and (3) a new literacy challenge. The following were among the recommendations offered for overcoming these challenges: (1) expand weekend classes; (2) track students' outcomes in the labor market after they leave the classroom; (3) expand developmental education through community college-employer partnerships; (4) expand community college developmental education; (5) create tax incentives for the private sector; (6) provide more job training for workers with the most limited skills; (7) refer workers with weak skills to ABE systems and one-stop career centers; (8) and direct ABE students toward other education and training opportunities. The following items are appended: background information on the ABE system; the education and literacy needs of Massachusetts' elderly and young adult populations; and supplemental tables. (Contains 80 tables.) (MN)

"The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 5" is a volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and learning. Each "Review" opens with an overview of significant recent developments in the field of adult literacy during the year, followed by a set of chapters presenting in-depth reviews of research and best practices on topics of high interest to the field. "Volume 5" includes chapters on: (1) The increasing emphasis on scientifically based research and evidence-based practice in education, their use in adult literacy, and the perception of their usefulness by those who work in the field; (2) Recent research on the impact of acquiring a General Educational Development (GED) credential; (3) The adult literacy system in the state of Massachusetts, focusing on the factors that led to investing and restructuring in the system, and the lessons learned that may be helpful to other states interested in building strong systems of educational service delivery for adult learners; (4) A history and review of volunteerism in adult literacy; (5) The history and structure of the adult literacy system in New Zealand, including policy recommendations for the current system to more effectively serve all adult learners; and (6) A review of theories and key resources related to metacognitive skills in reading. "The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy" serves as the journal of record for the field and is an essential resource for all stakeholders who need to know what research can reveal about how best to serve adult learners. Following a foreword and preface by M. Reddy, the contents of this book include: (1) The Year 2002 in Review (T. G. Sticht); (2) Adult Literacy Policy, Scientifically Based Research, and Evidence-Based Practice (L. Mikulecky); (3) The General Educational Development (GED) Credential: History, Current Research, and Directions for Policy and Practice (J. H. Tyler); (4) Massachusetts: A Case Study of Improvement and Growth of Adult Education Services (J. Comings and L. Soricone); (5) Volunteers in Adult Literacy Education (J. A. Sandlin and R. St. Clair); (6) Adult Literacy in New Zealand (A. J. Cain and J. Benseman); (7) Metacognition, Cognitive Strategy Instruction, and Reading in Adult Literacy (J. G. Cromley); and (8) Resources on Metacognition, Cognitive Strategy Instruction, and Reading in Adult Literacy (J. G. Cromley). [For "Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 4," see ED493804.]