Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult Education and Family Literacy Act ProgramsThe Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the following as it pertains to Adult Education and Literacy programs under title II, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).
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 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 are also scheduled to attend the 2016 College and Career Readiness Implementation Institutes in Texas, Nashville, and Washington D.C. Additional training sessions are scheduled to continue the efforts in teacher preparation, and to share the acquired knowledge obtained from the standards professional development activities with the field. 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. Alabama Adult Education is partnering with the Southern Region Education Board (SREB) to provide additional CCR aligned resources for the field. Beginning July 1, 2016, Adult Education providers will be able to utilize SREB’s college and career readiness contextualized curriculums in Reading /Language Arts and Mathematics. These SREB curriculums are also being piloted in the Secondary Schools of Alabama, and if adopted, will provide a unified approach for providing contextualized pathway instruction for the state. The contextualized curriculums of SREB readiness courses teach students to think critically through applying skills and problem–solving, while also using concepts that are tied to career sectors. 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; which also increases the skills necessary to attain employment, or participate in postsecondary education or training.