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Statement by
Patricia W. McNeil
Assistant Secretary
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Before the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education
on the
Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Request
for Vocational and Adult Education and School-to-Work Opportunities
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the President's fiscal year 1999 budget request for programs administered by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education. These programs are a critically important part of our Nation's effort to improve the achievement of secondary and postsecondary students and to ensure that adults have opportunities throughout their lifetime to improve their knowledge and skills. The 1999 budget includes $125 million for School-to-Work Opportunities, $1.15 billion for Vocational Education, and $394 million for Adult Education.
One of the most difficult tasks in tracking the performance of our education investments is to identify indicators of program success that the States can accurately measure. We are working closely with the State directors in each program area to establish uniform performance measures with common definitions, and to use these measures for accountability and program improvements. At the K-12 level, States are establishing academic standards, and we want students who take vocational/technical coursework to meet or exceed these standards. At the high school and post-secondary levels, we want technical coursework to meet the latest industry specifications. In adult education there is still considerable work to be done to identify competencies below the high school equivalency level. During the past year, we have established base-line information on some of the performance indicators. We are investing funds from all three of our programs in the identification of information and in the development and implementation of effective performance systems.
We have two primary strategies for achieving our GPRA objectives. We manage grants to States, and we provide national leadership through technical assistance, information dissemination, research, and development. In managing our State grant programs, we provide information from research and best practice to respond to customer needs and ensure that States have performance and financial management systems in place. We are working to improve grants management in three ways: (1) making greater use of the Internet to transfer and disseminate information and knowledge quickly, (2) improving knowledge application and utilization by enhancing communication, customer service, and coordination across programs, and (3) bringing States together to work on program improvement, financial management, and managing for results.
Our national leadership investments are organized to promote student achievement and outcomes. We design these knowledge development strategies with substantial input from our State and local customers, as well as our national research centers, including the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, other offices in our Department, and other Departments and agencies. Our national leadership investments fall into five main categories: (1) developing performance measurement and accountability systems; (2) improving professional development; (3) enhancing teaching and learning, with special emphasis on utilizing technology to increase student achievement; (4) examining how school organization affects learning; and (5) building partnerships among educational institutions, parents, employers, and community members.
Let me give you just a few examples of how we are utilizing national program funding. We are studying a group of high schools to learn how vocational and academic instruction is changing in order to ensure all students meet challenging standards and are prepared for postsecondary education and our high-tech society. These schools set challenging academic standards and regularly monitor student progress. They have revamped, broadened, and increased the academic rigor of their vocational courses. They utilize internships in workplaces and community settings to enhance classroom learning. They use technology to enhance student achievement. They form strong partnerships with middle schools, postsecondary institutions, employers, parents, and community groups.
In adult education, we are investing resources in the use of technology to improve access to, and the quality of, adult education services. We believe technology is an important tool for increasing access to services and for enhancing the learning process. Our first effort to support the innovative use of technology was our work with the "Crossroads Cafe" video series. Developed through a public-private partnership, "Crossroads Cafe" is a 26-episode "Sesame Street" for adults that focuses on English proficiency and uses a workplace setting to provide a context for learning. It is now being used in 35 States and has been purchased by 50 other countries. We have just recently launched a second effort to identify innovative ways to use technology for distance learning, classroom instruction, professional development, and assessment and accountability.
School-to-work stresses academic achievement, preparation for college, and exposure to a wide variety of careers options. Internships help students understand the relevance of academic subjects and how to apply academic concepts at work and in every day life. Mentors provide extra adult support and encouragement to students. Local partnerships of parents, employers, community organizations, and educators work together on school improvement and enriching programs for out-of-school youth. Initial evidence from local communities suggests that schools that have adopted school-to-work principles have increased attendance, reduced drop-out rates, and increased college-going among students.
To date, 39 States have received 5-year implementation grants. As of 1996, over one million students were participating in school-to-work activities. More than 200,000 employers are participating in school-to-work in a variety of ways, including providing over 60,000 work-based learning opportunities. Local partnerships involved more than 3,000 high schools, and over 90 percent have 2-year college partners and 57 percent have 4-year college partners. Both vocational education and Tech-Prep have contributed to the development of school-to-work systems and have been enriched by them. The President's request for School-to-Work, including funds requested by the Department of Labor, totals $250 million. This decrease from the 1998 level of $400 million reflects the planned phase-out of the Federal "venture capital" as originally envisioned by the legislation.
For vocational education at the high school level, a combination of skills is important preparation for both college and a career. For example, knowledge of electricity is an important prerequisite for pursuing an engineering degree, and also a prerequisite for becoming an entry-level technician with Bell South. Both the college freshman and the electrical technician need algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics, and chemistry; strong communications skills; and the ability to analyze information and solve complex problems. An internship in a research lab or an automotive dealership helps students understand how both academic and technical skills are applied in work outside the classroom. From agriculture to business, to manufacturing to transportation, to emerging information technology careers -- vocational education is changing from preparation in narrow occupations to a strategy for the acquisition of both strong academic skills and computer and other technical skills in career-related areas. It is an important component of school reform efforts at the secondary level.
In community colleges and postsecondary technical institutes, students range from recent high school graduates, to college graduates returning to get marketable technical skills, to adults trying to leave welfare or retrain for better jobs. Technology, course materials, and instruction must be up-to-date and relevant and meet world-class industry standards. Students must enter classes prepared for college-level work, and equipment, texts, and teacher knowledge must be on the cutting edge. To achieve this, partnerships with business--such as teacher and student internships and active alliances with high schools -- are essential.
Our request for $1.031 billion for Vocational Education State grants will help States, school districts and postsecondary institutions retrain teachers, develop new curricula, acquire new technology, introduce new instructional practices, and build effective partnerships with employers to meet the new demands of a knowledge-based economy. We are also requesting $106 million for Tech Prep Education. Tech-Prep has stimulated employer involvement, increased math and science content of technical classes, and forged stronger relationships between secondary and postsecondary institutions and increased integration of academic and vocational coursework. In FY 1999, we will begin a new National Assessment of Vocational Education. This assessment will be complemented by a new study of how Tech-Prep is contributing to education reform and affecting student achievement, as well as by the completion of a national evaluation of School-to-Work.
Addressing the needs of our limited-English proficient adults is an increasingly important component of our mission. Based on 1990 Census data, we estimate that 12 million adults are eligible for English as second language (ESL) programs supported by our Adult Education programs, and the number is expected to increase to more than 17 million by the year 2000. Therefore, the Department is requesting $20 million under the national research authority to fund new model English as a second language programs. This initiative will serve an additional 40,000 students and demonstrate what instructional methods are most effective.
Our request also includes $7 million for other national leadership activities in adult education. Our national research and development will promote the use of technology to increase access to adult education, such as bringing lessons to adults through the Internet and television. Funds also support the development of model basic skill certificates, and the evaluation of strategies for meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities. Another area of investigation is how adult education is helping welfare recipients make the transition to work. Funding for a new National Adult Literacy Survey is also included. For GPRA, we are embarking on a series of regional meetings providing technical assistance to States administrators in developing and using performance measures.
We are requesting $6 million for the National Institute for Literacy to allow it to continue its activities that complements the work of our office. NIFL has an Internet-based information network and has launched an awareness campaign to help the public understand the dimensions of the literacy challenge in the U.S. The Institute is doing important work in improving services for adults with learning disabilities, and they are developing a framework for identifying what adults should know and be able to do in their roles as workers, citizens, and community members. It is also engaged in activities to identify, promote, and disseminate effective adult education practices, build the capacity in the field to offer high quality education tied to rigorous content standards, and promote public support for literacy programs.
If we are to prepare our youth and adults adequately for our changing economy, we need a major transformation in our schools and adult education programs. More education needs to take place outside the formal classroom. We must make much better use of technology. We must be innovative about the contexts in which learning occurs and in developing partnerships between education and business, community, and family. The Federal Government has long been a catalyst in providing resources to spur such reforms.
My colleagues and I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have.
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