Research on the effectiveness of categories of adult education strategies

A new IES snapshot, Adult Education Strategies: Identifying and Building Evidence of Effectiveness, summarizes a systematic review of existing, rigorous research on the effectiveness of categories of adult education strategies. 

Key findings include—

• There has been little rigorous research on whether particular strategies in adult education improve learner outcomes. 
• The rigorous research that has been conducted does not address the full set of outcome areas that federal policy emphasizes. Studies measuring basic skills such as literacy did not measure longer-term outcomes such as credential attainment and earnings. Studies that investigated longer-term outcomes did not measure basic skills.
• The available evidence provides limited support for the use of particular adult education strategies over others, although bridge classes and integrated education and training programs offer some promise.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act encourages adult education programs to use evidence-based strategies to improve services and participant success. This systematic review of research suggests a need for more rigorous studies, as there is not yet much evidence to guide decision making around instructional and support strategies for adult learners