Adult Learning

Image of adult student in lab

Adult learners include those with little education who want to improve their literacy skills to help them transition to college, immigrants who want to learn English, students who have dropped out of school and want to get their secondary credential or take the high school equivalency tests, and adults seeking to improve their employment skills.

Adult Education Research and Technical Assistance Center (AERTAC)

The Adult Education Research and Technical Assistance Center (AERTAC) at AIR conducts research and provides technical assistance to states and local programs to improve the adult education system by promoting quality instruction and support services through better professional development, evaluation, strengthening accountability, and increasing the use of promising practices such as technology in instruction. Our projects help improve adult learners’ basic skills and English language ability to enable them to obtain secondary and postsecondary credentials, succeed in postsecondary education, and become more employable.

Latest Work

Image of drawing by a child
6 Sep 2019
Spotlight

Literacy Around the World

Founded to actively mobilize the international community and to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities, and societies, International Literacy Day is celebrated around the world. Learn more about the projects, people, research, and in-country technical assistance that are contributing to the effort.
11 Jul 2019
Infographic

NCES Data Point: Adult English Literacy in the United States

The ability to read and understand basic texts is vital in modern society. A National Center for Education Statistics Data Point shows that one in five adults in the United States have low English literacy skills, meaning that they would have difficulty understanding, evaluating, using, or engaging with written texts.
Image of adult students working on laptops
3 Jul 2019
Q & A

A Quick Word With: Stephanie Cronen on the National Study of the Implementation of Adult Education

The U.S. Department of Education commissioned AIR to conduct a national study to evaluate how adult education operates at the state and local levels, including who adult education providers are, the services they provide, and the challenges they face. Stephanie Cronen answered some questions about adult education and what the study aims to accomplish.
Image of confused older man at computer
1 May 2018
Brief

A Description of U.S. Adults Who Are Not Digitally Literate

This brief highlights findings from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in an effort to obtain a clear understanding of the ability of adults to undertake digital problem solving. This brief uses data gathered from a sample of 5,000 adults across different socio-demographic groups in the United States and compares it to international averages from 19 other countries to answer three specific study questions.
Project

Studying Teacher Effectiveness in Adult Education

Despite the important role that adult education can play in students’ lives, research on teachers of adult education is limited. AIR produced four research briefs to provide descriptive information about the characteristics of teachers in adult education and to explore whether teacher characteristics are associated with student achievement in adult education.
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