Increasing education among low-income parents is a vital component of policies to improve families’ economic status. Educational attainment matters: between 1979 and 2005, wages for those with college and advanced degrees rose by 22 and 28 percent, respectively, while wages for high school graduates remained stagnant and wages for high school dropouts fell by 16 percent. Overall, people who complete an associate’s degree or certificate program earn more than those with just a high school diploma or general educational development (GED) certificate, and those who complete even one year of college earn more than those without the additional education. But only a third of low-wage, low-income workers with children have more than a high school diploma and another third are high school dropouts. Moreover, the strong association between postsecondary education and higher earnings does not necessarily mean that facilitating access to higher education among low-income adults will lead to earnings gains, particularly considering that many lack recent or successful school experiences. (author abstract)

This Institute of Education Sciences (IES) issue brief compares demographic characteristics, 10th grade achievement levels, and plans for postsecondary education between GED recipients, high school graduates, and high school dropouts without a GED. The IES also reveals GED recipients’ reported reasons for leaving high school and their motivation to obtain a GED.

In 2004, the Lumina Foundation for Education launched “Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count,” a national initiative aimed at improving success among community college students, especially low-income students and students of color. From the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this report examines the outcomes at the first 26 colleges that have joined the initiative, although there are currently 130 institutes in 24 States who are a part of the initiative. The report describes how the initiative has influenced the colleges and provides an overview of the strategies that have been implemented across the country.

Over 26 million adults in the United States do not have a high school degree and many of these individuals are classified as low-skilled. Many Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs, designed to provide foundational skills, are failing to place low-skilled students on a trajectory to enter credit-bearing postsecondary programs and earn postsecondary credentials. Accelerating Opportunity: A Breaking through Initiative, seeks to transform ABE programs in the United States to help low-skilled students move along educational pathways and into jobs that pay a living wage. Modeling their efforts after the Washington State Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program, 11 States throughout the U.S. are attempting to substantially increase the number of basic skills students enrolled in career pathway programs that lead to high-quality employment opportunities.

This Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) webinar discussed postsecondary education and credentials for low income populations to help increase economic mobility for this group. Speakers from the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation provided information on best serving low-income adults and disadvantaged youth through education.

It is expected that by the year 2018, sixty percent of all American jobs will require at least some college education. It has also been projected that if the current rates of degree completion continue, the American workforce will fall three million workers short of meeting the demands of this changing labor market. In this report from the Center for American Progress and the Council for Adults & Experiential Learning, the authors outline mechanisms and policies necessary to ensure postsecondary success among non-traditional and mobile learners. Among these mechanisms are articulation agreements between institutions allowing for easy credit transfers, methods for awarding credit to learning occurring outside of the classroom, resources that make educational options more apparent to students, and the development of programs based on competencies rather than credit hours. The authors stress that these changes are necessary both to meet the needs of the growing numbers of non-traditional students and to address the demands of the changing American economy.

From the College Board, this annual progress report provides a roadmap for educators and policymakers to increase postsecondary education retention. The United States is currently lagging behind in the college completion rate from other industrialized countries, especially for minority and low-income students. With a goal of reaching a graduation rate of 55 percent by 2025, this agenda provides key recommendations, providing promising strategies to help meet this goal.

While college attendance has increased over the last thirty years, the proportion of students who complete college has decreased. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago authored this issue brief which provides data on the educational trajectories of Chicago youth from high school to college. Reviewing the paths that youth follow throughout high school and beyond, authors then suggest policies to support these youth as young adults as they pursue their postsecondary educational goals.

From the Center for Law and Social Policy, Maine’s Parents as Scholars (PaS) program provides services to Maine TANF participants who are pursuing two-year or four-year postsecondary degrees. The program is open to all TANF participants who did not previously have a bachelor’s degree in a field with available jobs or do not make 85 percent of Maine’s median income for their family size in their current field. Participants must remain full-time students, maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average, and must be on track to complete their degree programs in the usual two or four years.

In 2005, Achieve launched the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network at the National Education Summit on High Schools. Since 2005, Achieve has been annually monitoring state progress in college and career readiness for its populations. At the inception of the program, only three states had aligned high school standards with postsecondary and workplace expectations, and in 2010, this report reveals that 31 states have college- and career-ready standards.