**Department of Education**

## Statement by 

**Carol D'Amico**

**Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education**

**on**

**High School and Transition into the Workforce**

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I am pleased to appear before you to discuss the programs and fiscal
resources administered in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education
that focus on high school and transition into the workforce. In these
remarks, I will address the specifics of the Administration's budget
request and the policy context in which those requests are made.

The important first step of the President's goal for the Federal role in
elementary and secondary education was achieved in the *No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001*. This legislation marks a new era of education
reform, and represents a significant change to Federal involvement in
education. The legislation is built upon four key principles. First, a
focus on achievement, particularly closing achievement gaps based on
ethnicity and socio-economic status; second, a focus on what
works---evidence-based practice; third, providing more flexibility and
less regulation in the delivery of education, and; fourth, providing
more options for parents and students. Through implementation of its
four key principles, *No Child Left Behind* will stimulate change and
improvement in our elementary and middle schools, and lay the foundation
for transforming our high schools and improving transitions to the
workplace.

Now, our goal is to ensure that these important principles that the
President and the Congress have embraced are also reflected in efforts
to improve dramatically the preparation of students in high schools and
their transition to the workplace.

The Department's vocational and adult education programs are intended to
help secondary schools provide effective career and technical education
to prepare youth for postsecondary education and ensure that those
students achieve to the same State academic standards as all other
students in their schools. At the postsecondary level, these programs
support students pursuing sub-baccalaureate vocational and technical
education. The Federal investment in adult education gives older youth
and adults opportunities to build their numeracy and literacy skills and
complete their high school education. Under these programs, the
Department of Education and the States have made significant progress in
the last three years in establishing basic accountability systems and
processes that are necessary for effective program management.

But, honestly, we have a long way to go. While my office and the States
we partner with are fulfilling the letter of the law, I am not confident
that we have captured the desired impact that Congress intended when it
authorized and funded these programs. That is the challenge before us
that I would like to address more fully.

# The Challenge \-- High School Excellence

As you know, despite nearly 20 years of educational reform and
innovation, millions of America's young adults leave high school without
the knowledge and skills needed for success in either the workplace or
postsecondary education.

Given current economic trends and projections, young adults will face
advances in technology, information, and globalization unimaginable to
earlier generations. In this "Knowledge Economy," demand for
low-skilled, less-educated labor will increasingly give way to demand
for high-skilled, well-educated workers. More companies will cross
national boundaries and reconfigure the way that work is done. Good
jobs---those with meaningful career paths and family-supporting
incomes---will go to those with strong academic and technical skills,
especially in math, science, and technology, and in the ability to
reason, solve problems, and communicate effectively. Since employers who
do not find skilled workers "at home" will look for them abroad, our
Nation's future prosperity hinges on our ability to prepare our young
people for success in the competitive international marketplace.

The challenge is clear; too many American high schools are failing to
prepare their students for the future. Good schools do exist, but they
continue to be the exception.

# The Emerging Role of Postsecondary Institutions

Our postsecondary institutions will play an increasingly critical role
in addressing this challenge. Because of population increases and
increased college attendance rates, more American youth are enrolling in
postsecondary education than ever before. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
projections for 2010 indicate that 70 percent of the fastest growing
jobs in the economy (e.g., computer support professionals, paralegals
and legal assistants, and health occupations) will require some type of
education and training beyond high school. Of these, 21 percent will
require a bachelor's degree or higher. Yet, too many students are
inadequately prepared to graduate, get a job, or advance to higher
learning.

Community colleges have multiple missions---providing young people with
their first college experience and retraining America's workforce. There
are, among the Nation's 1,100 community colleges, many institutions that
do not have the capacity to fulfill their potential in the areas of
education, career preparation, and workforce development. Many State
funding policies have evolved haphazardly over time and are not
necessarily attuned to the needs of today's lifelong learner. There is
difficulty in measuring the quality of community colleges, in large part
because of the multiple missions they serve and the diversity of student
goals and needs.

# The Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Request

The President's fiscal year 2003 budget request reflects a firm
commitment to improving the quality and effectiveness of [Vocational and
Adult Education]{.underline}. The request, totaling \$1.9 billion,
provides financial support for instruction, national research, and
technical assistance to high schools, community colleges, and adult
education programs in basic, academic, and technical skills.

# Vocational Education

The fiscal year 2003 request includes \$1.3 billion for vocational and
technical education programs, of which \$1.18 billion is for vocational
education [State Grants]{.underline}, the same level as last year. These
grants support career and technical education through curriculum
development, teacher training, and the introduction of new technology,
and student support services in high schools, community colleges, and
regional vocational-technical institutes. Course-taking patterns of high
school students indicate that vocational education is changing in many
places---students are participating in vocational education not always
to prepare for a specific career, but often to explore career options.

About 25 percent of high-school students \"concentrate,\" or earn three
or more credits, in a single occupational area. The program areas most
frequently selected by these students are trade and industry, business,
agriculture, technology and communications, and health care. Other
program areas include marketing, personal and other services, childcare,
and food service and hospitality. Another 18 percent of students earn
three or more credits in multiple vocational areas. This segment of the
student population has grown significantly over the past decade.

About 29 percent of today's jobs require some level of postsecondary
education, but only a small percentage require a baccalaureate degree.
For most students, obtaining a strong set of written and oral
communication skills linked with specific technical skills through a
training program or associate's degree can lead to gainful employment.

Our request for [Tech-Prep Education]{.underline} is \$108 million, the
same as the previous year. This program supports consortia of high
schools, colleges, and technical institutes to work with employers to
create challenging programs of study in the academic and technical
skills needed for technical careers. Tech-Prep, when implemented
according to the law, provides students a very clear sequence and
transition from high school to postsecondary education to employment. In
managing this program, we intend to make sure that States are making
local tech-prep grants that truly reflect the intent of the program.

Vocational education [National Programs]{.underline} funds support
research on effective programs and promote effective practice. The
\$12 million request for National Programs, the same level as last year,
will support activities to help build and act on a stronger consensus
about how career and technical education can contribute to improving
high school academic achievement. With these funds, we are working to
explore how technical programs at the postsecondary level can be closely
linked to the needs of the labor market.

# Adult Education and Family Literacy

To promote literacy, the fiscal year 2003 request includes \$591 million
for [Adult Education]{.underline}. For adult education [State
Grants]{.underline}, the request includes \$575 million (including
\$70 million for [English Literacy and Civics Education
Grants]{.underline}), the same as last year, to contribute to nationwide
improvements in adult literacy and high school completion. Local
programs, operated by schools, colleges, and community agencies, use
funds to pay for instruction, course materials, teacher training, and
new instructional technology. Some States use a portion of their adult
education grants for family literacy programs to help build strong
reading and other life skills. Local educational agencies receive
slightly less than half of Federal adult education funds, community
colleges receive 25 percent, community-based organizations receive
9 percent, and correctional institutions receive 5 percent. The
remaining funds are awarded to other non-profit institutions, such as
libraries, baccalaureate-granting institutions of higher education, and
other providers. At least 75,000 parents in adult education programs
participate in family literacy services each year.

Preparing limited English proficient individuals for the workplace and
their lives in American society are an important and growing component
of adult education services. Each State chooses how much of its adult
education funds to spend on English literacy, relative to adult basic
education and adult secondary programs. In recent years, the States that
have experienced rates of growth in excess of 45 percent in English
literacy enrollments include the District of Columbia, Virginia,
Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, Utah, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

The request for adult education [National Leadership]{.underline}
activities is level at \$9.5 million. These funds will support continued
data gathering so that we can better understand the scope of adult
literacy among the U.S. population. The 1992 National Assessment of
Adult Literacy (NAALS) indicated that approximately 90 million adults
were reading at levels that were insufficient to participate in the
economy fully and obtain new skills necessary for success. In 2002, an
updated version of NAALS will be conducted, which will likely indicate
that tens of millions of Americans continue to live with low literacy.
Currently, our programs serve only about 2.7 million Americans each
year. This demands two levels of response.

First, we need to make sure that current services are of the highest
possible quality---reflecting the best-known research about adult
learning and having a clear focus with specific objectives for each
adult education class that is offered. This requires clear expectations,
good curriculum and assessments, well-trained teachers, and an
accountability system to measure and report on student and program
success.

Second, we need to make a broader array of services available to adult
learners who are currently not accessing learning. That is why we are
developing national activities around the role of workplace education,
community and faith-based organizations as providers of rigorous
training on research-based practices to volunteer tutors, and the use of
libraries and technology-enabled learning to supplement the role of a
well-trained adult education teacher. In cooperation with States and the
private sector, we are looking for ways to connect multiple systems and
resources together in a way that will improve program effectiveness and
serve more adults.

The request also includes \$6.6 million for the [National Institute for
Literacy]{.underline} (NIFL). NIFL fosters innovation and collaboration
in order to build and strengthen national, regional, and State literacy
infrastructures, and promotes consensus in the field on strategies to
increase the resources for, access to, and quality of adult literacy
services.

# Promoting Accountability

The 1998 reauthorization of the vocational and adult education statutes
included accountability requirements focusing on student achievement.
The Workforce Investment Act established an incentive grant program for
States that exceed their performance targets in each of the three major
programs. The efforts in developing effective State accountability
systems are very important. These current accountability systems are
necessary, but they are not sufficient.

One of Secretary Paige's key strategies for the Department of Education
is that we move beyond a "culture of compliance to a culture of
results." An accountability system is only worthwhile if it is measuring
the right things, and if the data it produces are actually being used by
teachers and administrators to improve quality. We are working to ensure
that data are driving needed change in these programs so that they
better serve students. And, as we approach the reauthorization of these
programs, we will make further recommendations about how to improve
these fledgling accountability systems, including addressing what we
should measure.

# Looking Forward to Preparing America's Future

The Office of Vocational and Adult Education is now working to build on
the *No Child Left Behind Act* by developing policy recommendations for
improvements in high schools, community colleges, and adult learning
centers. Our goal is to create incentives and opportunities for State
and local reform efforts focusing on: (1) preparing every American youth
to complete high school and be well-prepared for postsecondary education
and employment; (2) supporting community and technical colleges to
fulfill their potential in the areas of education, career preparation,
and workforce development; and (3) expanding adult learning to bring
higher levels of literacy and English fluency to millions of underserved
Americans.

This effort comes at a critical time as Congress prepares to reauthorize
the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, Adult
Education and Family Literacy Act, and the Higher Education Act.

# Conclusion

As President Bush aptly notes, "...education is a national
priority...and a local responsibility." Success in improving our
Nation's high schools and preparing our students will require a new,
transformed Federal role, as well as the leadership and engagement of
millions of Americans responsible for education at the State and local
levels.

I want to express how enthusiastically ready we are to work with all
Americans to develop this next wave of reform on behalf of America's
youth and adults. It is a matter of highest importance to America's
security, her historic ideals, and our future.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would be happy to
respond to any questions you may have.