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a. Aligning of Content Standards

Describe how the eligible agency will, by July 1, 2016, align its content standards for adult education with State-adopted challenging academic content standards, as adopted under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)).

Current Narrative:

The Alabama Community College System (ACCS), Workforce Division’s Adult Education Office has aligned to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) standards for Adult Education that were disseminated through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). The CCR standards reflect the necessary skills and abilities required for the rigor of postsecondary education, training, and employment. The CCR standards provide benchmarks aligned to the Common Core standards that create a framework that can be used to strengthen adult education instruction. Alabama Adult Education has officially adopted the College and Career Readiness standards that support the State standards used by the Alabama Department of Education. The Alabama State Board of Education, the governing board of the Department of Education, approved the adoption of the internationally benchmarked Common Core State Standards along with selected Alabama standards in November 2010. By combining both Common Core and Alabama’s standards, our state has adopted a set of the most comprehensive standards in the nation, ensuring students are prepared for a successful future in the ever—expanding global environment. The adoption and alignment of the College and Career Readiness standards allow adult educators to target the specific skills that will ensure our adults are prepared to attain a high school equivalency, postsecondary education, training, and/or employment. Collaboration with K—12 and college partners will confirm consistent expectations for preparing students for entering postsecondary education without the need for developmental education. As of July 1, 2016, Adult Education Title II contracted programs or any future selected programs are required to teach these standards to maximize the effectiveness of curricula and instruction, and to prepare students with the skills and abilities for postsecondary education, training, and the demands of the workforce. To facilitate the understanding and knowledge of CCR standards in the adult education classroom, professional development training will focus on how to use and implement the standards. Standards training will continue to be the foundation of targeted professional development. The courses will deliver the intensity and duration to lead to successful understanding and skills mastery. The curriculum, instructional techniques, and support materials used in the instructional process must align to the standards for warranting quality and rigor. Instructors have been participating in professional development activities that support the use of the standards. For example, instructors have participated in standards training through various professional development activities such as: facilitated online standard courses through the National Center for Family Learning, self—paced online courses through the U.S. Department of Education supported Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS), and local targeted professional development and specific sessions during the Summer Adult Education conference. Three groups of instructors, directors, and state staff members attended the 2016 College and Career Readiness Implementation Institutes in Texas, Nashville, and Washington D.C. Additional training sessions are continuing scheduled the efforts in teacher preparation, and to share the acquired knowledge obtained from the standards professional development activities with the field. We conducted “Train the Trainer” sessions in statewide venues with the directive for the local programs to do the same with their staff. State efforts will support all programs using a standards based approach to adult education, in which standards—based education is defined as the process for planning, delivering, monitoring and improving academic programs in which clearly defined academic content standards provide the basis for content in instruction and assessment. A standards based approach will help to ensure that students learn what is important, rather than allowing textbooks to dictate classroom practice. This approach aims for a deep level of student understanding that goes beyond traditional textbook—based or lesson—based instruction. Although standards define individual skills, standards—based education does not promote a skill—by—skill methodology. Multiple standards can and will be integrated in instructional activities to promote College and Career Readiness for preparing the skilled workforce of tomorrow. Adults that have not completed the requirements of a high school diploma will be able to prepare for a high school equivalency in an academic contextualized instructional pathway. The instructional pathway increases the skills necessary to attain employment, or participate in postsecondary education or training.