These figures are quite different for those 10,000 or so sampled adults institutionalized in corrections and programs for at-risk youth, being over 80 percent males. Excluding the corrections and other at-risk institutions, retention rates for females in ESL and ABE were 63 and 62 percent, and males 59 and 62 percent. A study comparing NALS tests with GED tests indicated that 42 percent of the sample were males and 58 percent were females and these data are comparable to the population of GED takers. Summary In summary, then, data concerning the issue of whether the AELS is serving men well include the following generalizations gleaned from a number of sources. Males are more likely to perceive themselves as not reading well.
Males are less likely to show up for a program even if they enroll for one.
Males are less likely to persist in a program after their first hour of instruction. I do not know of a general study of this issue about how well the AELS reaches, recruits, retains, and educates males compared to females.