Adult Education System Evaluation Final Report 2020
Summary of Key Findings and Recommendations
December 2020
The mission of the Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS) division of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is “to provide each and every adult with opportunities to develop literacy, math and numeracy, and other skills needed to qualify for further education, job training, and better employment, and to reach his/her full potential as a family member, productive worker, and citizen.” In 2018, ACLS provided learning opportunities to approximately 12,000 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students and 7,000 adult basic education (ABE) and high school equivalency (HSE) students.
In spring 2019, ACLS and DESE contracted with the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute (UMDI) to conduct an evaluation of the Massachusetts adult education system. This multi-method evaluation gathered the perspectives of students, directors, teachers, advisors, ACLS staff, and other stakeholders, and collected data through focus groups, interviews, and online surveys. Data collection was intended to surface a range of information, from student academic and workforce needs, to program successes and challenges, to recommendations for potential changes to the adult education system.
This document is the final report for the evaluation. It is a high-level summary of the key findings and recommendations that surfaced through analysis of data from three collections (focus groups, interviews, and surveys). UMDI produced separate reports summarizing the findings and considerations derived from each data collection method. These reports are included in the appendices. For ease of reference, this document includes links to related sections in each of the method-specific reports.
