Each state sets policy on what inmates are to do with their time. There is no coherency in overall philosophy, standards, nor procedures. Some states do not require inmates to work while others require that all inmates work. Others offer a flexible schedule so that inmates can work and attend school. A graduate program at a maximum security prison has a recidivism rate of zero.
Inmates are typically former drop-outs from school.
All educational programs for them must be relevant to the problems they encountered on the outside that led them to their crimes. Relevancy is a key issue in retaining inmates in the literacy program. No textbook or video programming were located that were produced specifically for the inmate population. There is an indication that further successes will be garnered by quality literacy programs based on inmate peer tutoring. The Prison Literacy Project reports enormous success with an inmate managed literacy programs.