NCAL study shows U.S. education levels slipping, more training for adults needed

The United States is losing its footing in what has been a steady generational climb to greater economic prosperity. The reason is that education—always our strongest foothold—is no longer better for this generation than the last.

In a report released a few months ago, the National Commission on Adult Literacy presented this conclusion along with a barrage of statistics they call “powerful evidence” of our failure to address America’s adult education and workforce skills needs. This failure, they say, is putting our country in great jeopardy and threatening our nation’s standard of living and economic viability. They advocate increased funding of the Workforce Investment Act, which replaced the Adult Education Act.

“Among the 30 OEDC (Organisation for Economic Development Co-operation) free-market countries, the U.S. is the only nation where young adults are less educated than the previous generation,” says the new report, “and we are losing ground to other countries in educational attainment.”

The statistics will surprise few adult educators:

• More than half the U.S. workforce lacks the education and skills needed for jobs that can support a family. These 88 million workers didn’t graduate from high school or attend college, can’t speak English adequately, or have no access to training in special skills.
• More than two-thirds of the workforce is beyond the reach of the schools. Federal adult education, training and English language programs reach only about 3 million adults a year
• Every year, one in three young adults (more than 12 million) drop out of high school. Many high school graduates also lack basic skills and readiness for job training and college
• One in every 100 U.S. adults 16 or older is in prison or jail in America. About 43 percent do not have a high school diploma or equivalent, and 56 percent have very low literacy skills. However, 95 percent will return to our communities

“Americans are particularly struggling in those growing areas of our economy that now require more than a high school diploma,” said Cheryl King in an interview for Bloomberg.net. “What we’ve been overlooking in this country for years is the significant adult populations of our workforce that simply lack the basic skills to succeed in a 21st Century economy.” King is president of Kentucky Wesleyan College and a member of the National Commission on Adult Literacy.

The report says that spending $20 billion a year on training would serve 20 million people a year compared with three million currently. The commission also recommends nine specific steps outlined on their website at www.nationalcommissiononadultliteracy.org.