Narrative Report | National Reporting System

State Leadership Funds (Adult education and family literacy act Section 223 (AEFLA))

Describe how the State has used funds made available under section 223 (State Leadership activities) for each the following:

AEFLA Section 223(1)(a)

Alignment of adult education and literacy activities with other one-stop required partners to implement the strategies in the Unified or Combined State Plan as described in section 223(1)(a)

In Program Year 2022 (PY22), the Georgia Office of Adult (GOAE) utilized several strategies to ensure alignment between adult education activities and other one-stop partners.

Monitoring: GAOE ensured that local programs maintained required one-stop partnerships through ongoing desk monitoring and local program monitoring. In PY22, GOAE conducted five local program monitoring visits (onsite and virtual). The monitoring visits included a review of one-stop partnership agreements, one-stop infrastructure costs, and interviews with one-stop partners.

Integrated Education and Training: Per state requirement, all Georgia Adult Education programs are required to provide quarterly Integrated Education and Training (IET) opportunities. In PY22, programs aligned their IETs to the local and regional workforce development plans for their respective areas. Examples of IETs include, but were not limited to: forklift, dental assistant, welding, and early childhood. To support these efforts and ensure alignment of core partners, GOAE offered four focused statewide trainings and ongoing targeted technical assistance meetings.

System Alignment: GOAE and the Georgia Office of Workforce Development (GOWD) both sit within the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) which allows for ongoing communication, collaboration, and partnership. In PY22, GOAE and GOWD aligned services in the following areas:

Title I and Title II Referral Process
- GOAE and GOWD developed joint guidance to ensure that Title I and Title II providers understand that all Title II adult education students are considered basic skills deficient, and therefore, receive priority for Title I services. The state will implement this guidance in PY23.
Training Opportunities
- Three GOAE staff members participated in GOWD’s Spring Conference. In addition to attending sessions and meeting with local WorkSource leaders, GOAE conducted a session titled “Adult Education: A Partner with Flexible Options.”
Career Plus High School Diploma Program
- Two GOWD staff participated in GOAE’s Career Plus Advisory Committee.
- GOWD allocated a portion of its year-two WIOA funds for Career Plus High School Diploma (CPH) students and conducted multiple meetings between local adult education programs and the local WorkSource providers on the requirements for using these funds.
Collaboration with the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL)
- GOAE and the Georgia Department of Labor implemented formal data matching agreements, including Statewide Wage Interchange System (SWIS data).
- Local adult education programs established referral agreements with GDOL and established class sites with one-stop providers.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(b)

Establishment or operation of a high-quality professional development programs as described in section 223(1)(b)

In PY22 GOAE conducted a needs assessment, revealing interest in HSE instruction, reading, math, classroom management, and online teaching. Adult education programs also wanted in-person professional development. To address these needs, GOAE offered specific training to enhance instruction in AEFLA-funded programs, including:

Adult Basic and Secondary Education Fall Summit: The summit featured thirteen national presenters who conducted sessions on core HSE content, student retention, and hybrid classroom instruction. The technology sessions took place in a computer lab, enabling hands-on activities and exploration of online resources. Session topics included:
- Critical Reasoning Skills Students Need for Success on HSE Mathematics Assessments
- Helping Your Students with TABE Reading Skills They Must Have to Progress
- Proportional Reasoning: Teaching Strategies that Make Sense to Your Adult Students
- Revitalizing and Enhancing Your Teaching Materials with Canvas
- Teaching Social Studies Through Multiple Academic Approaches to Better Prepare Students for HSE Testing
- Helping Them Stay: Insights and Best Practice for Student Retention in Adult Education
- Universal Design for Learning: Creating Instruction for All Adult Learners

Fall and Spring ESL Summits: Both summits featured national presenters who conducted sessions on communication skills, reading, writing, workplace readiness, and ESL specific student support. Sessions included:
- Creating a Welcoming and Engaging Environment for Your Diverse ESL Students
- Creating a Culture of Persistence in Your ESL Classes
- Tips for Managing Your Adult ESL Classroom Like a Pro
- Integrating Soft Skills and Career Awareness in ESL Instruction
- Helping Your Adult ESL Students Navigate Online Community Resources
- Redefining Blended Learning for Today’s ESL Program
- Enhancing Your ESL Instruction: A Focus on College & Career Readiness and Vocabulary Instruction

Math Institutes: In collaboration with the Adult Numeracy Center at TERC, GOAE delivered two math institutes. The CALM program teaches instructors to present math concepts in formats that mirror how students encounter them in career contexts. In addition to the CALM math instruction, participants received six months of virtual coaching sessions and access to the online CALM curriculum.

STAR Reading: GOAE continues to offer the STAR reading program to support evidenced-based reading instruction. While the STAR program is delivered online, feedback from previous STAR cohort participants indicated the need for periodic face-to-face interaction with the instructor and their fellow participants. In response, GOAE created a hybrid delivery model by providing three in-person training sessions to accompany the online curriculum. These sessions enable trainers to offer extra guidance on the core elements of the STAR curriculum. They also foster statewide network of support.

AEFLA Section 223(1)(c)

Provision of technical assistance to funded eligible providers as described in section 223(1)(c)

In addition to the professional development discussed in the previous question, GOAE provided technical assistance and disseminated instructional and programmatic practices through the following methods:

Grant Program Support Coordinators: GOAE has four Grant Program Support Coordinators (GPSC) that serve as the primary contact between GOAE and the local programs. Using an annual needs assessment, GPSCs provide programs continuous technical assistance and support. In PY22, GOAE shifted its GPSC assignments to ensure that one GPSC serves primarily ESL and IELCE programs.
Monthly Newsletter: GOAE sends out a monthly newsletter to nearly 1,000 subscribers. Within this newsletter, GOAE highlights promising practices discovered through monitoring, evaluation, and technical assistance efforts. Each month, the newsletter spotlights successful practices from local providers. Some examples include “Leveraging Marketing Strategies to Promote Adult Education,” “TargetX: A Digital Tool for Recruiting and Re-Engaging Students,” and “Expanding Opportunities through Family Literacy Programs.”
High School Equivalency Blitz: To increase the number of Georgia high school equivalency (HSE) graduates, GOAE continued its HSE Blitz initiative, which provides programs resources and strategies to help more students graduate. GOAE featured instructors and strategies from local programs with high HSE attainment rates. National organizations also provided training on available resources and best practices for HSE attainment. The materials are now available in a Blackboard course, which allows adult education staff from across the state to share best practices and tools through a discussion board.
Webinar Series
- Integrated Education and Training – Training on the GO: GOAE created a four-session webinar series which shared promising IET practices. These sessions highlighted successful IET programs, regional workforce needs, needs assessments, apprenticeships, partner involvement, and information about the Single Set of Learning Objectives (SSLO).
- Instructional Leadership Training: GOAE created a four-session webinar series which shared methods instructional leaders can use to assess and support teacher effectiveness.

Career Services Specialists: Per state requirement, adult education programs are required to have a Career Services Specialist (CSS). CSSs support students with workforce and transition needs, including finding and applying for a job and obtaining financial aid. In PY22, GOAE supported CSSs through quarterly regional meetings and workshops. Workshop topics included:
- HSE Grant Opportunities
- PY22 Career Services Roles and Responsibilities
- Testing Centers and Career Services Partnerships: Exit Surveys as a Referral Tool

AEFLA Section 223(1)(d)

Monitoring and evaluation of the quality and improvement of adult education activities as described in section 223(1)(d)

In PY22, GOAE monitored and evaluated adult education programs through desktop monitoring, onsite monitoring, and performance reports.

Desk Monitoring
- GPSC Support: GPSCs conduct frequent, informal monitoring to ensure programs implement high-quality, standards-based instruction.
- Workiva Tracking: Programs enter monthly expenses and inventory into Workiva, a financial tracking system. Each month, GOAE’s Budget and Grants Specialist reconciles Workiva records with TCSG’s business office records. This process flags inconsistencies between program and system office records.
- Quarterly Audits: GAOE conducts fiscal audits for two to three programs per quarter. The fiscal audits examine a program’s budget, expenditures, and supporting documentation for a short time period (between one and three months) and serve as an additional internal control to ensure programs use Adult Education federal and state funds in accordance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award.

Onsite Monitoring: GOAE selects programs for monitoring based on the results of an annual fiscal and programmatic risk assessment, whether the program has received a monitoring visit within the past three years, and if GOAE has a documented concern. In PY22, GOAE prepared risk assessments for each program based on a total of 11 fiscal, programmatic, and performance categories. GOAE conducted five monitoring visits – four in person and one virtual.

Performance Reports: In January 2023, GOAE provided a mid-year report to organization heads and adult education program administrators. The reports served as a status update towards each program’s negotiated targets and other benchmarks including spending, enrollment, HSE, MSG and IET credential attainment, distance education participation, and professional development contact hours. GOAE provided technical assistance to programs who were well below their targets at mid-year. Additionally, GOAE began sending out monthly program metric spreadsheets to help them monitor progress towards their negotiated targets. This information drove programs to implement new recruitment and retention initiatives during the year.

AEFLA Section 223(a)(2)

As applicable, describe how the State has used funds for additional permissible activities described in section 223(a)(2)

In PY22, there were three notable initiatives to support students in successfully attaining a credential and/or attaining employment:

One to GO and Two to GO Campaigns: In PY21, GOAE launched the "One to GO" campaign, targeting students who were one subject away from earning their High School Equivalency (HSE), and offering them tailored support and resources to successfully complete their studies. In PY22, GOAE expanded its efforts with the "Two to GO" campaign, reaching out to students who needed to pass two or more subjects to achieve their HSE. For the “One to GO” campaign, GOAE contacted 6,485 individuals, and 870 individuals took at least one more test. Of these, 453 students passed to become graduates. For the "Two to GO" campaign, OAE contacted 5,980 individuals, resulting in 521 individuals taking at least one test, and 218 of them graduating. In total, the “One to GO” and “Two to GO” campaigns resulted in 671 students attaining their HSE.

Expansion of the Career Plus High School Diploma Program: In PY22, the Career Plus High School Diploma program (CPH) expanded from five to seven colleges. Through CPH, students combine high school credit, GED and/or HiSET passing scores, and postsecondary credentials to earn their high school diploma. CPH graduates enter their chosen career field with the education, technical skills, and credentials needed to succeed. This year, CPH shifted from awarding a high school equivalency to awarding a high school diploma. It also increased student access to the program by lowering the minimum age from 21 to 18.

Integrated Education and Training: All 30 local adult education providers offered IETs during the program year. 1,588 students participated in IET, with 1,305 industry recognized credentials awarded. GOAE supported these efforts through IET webinars, which were detailed in the technical assistance section of this report.

Performance Data Analysis

Describe how the adult education program performed in the overall assessment of core programs based on the core indicators of performance. Discuss how the assessment was used to improve quality and effectiveness of the funded eligible providers and any plans to further increase performance in future reporting years.

Monitoring Local Program Performance

In PY22, GOAE negotiated enrollment and Measurable Skills Gain (MSG) targets with local programs in a process that mimics the federal target negotiation process. Providers set reasonable, but ambitious targets that help incentivize local performance and allow GOAE to monitor progress.

GOAE monitored progress towards performance targets by weekly, quarterly, and mid-year data analysis using GALIS, the state’s adult education data system. In addition to pulling weekly reports, GOAE also implemented quarterly local program data quality reports that included benchmarks related to performance. In January 2023, GOAE provided programs with a mid-year data report to show their progress, and provided technical assistance to programs who were at risk of not meeting targets.

State Performance

MSG Performance: Georgia’s overall PY22 MSG percentage was 46.42%, meeting the 90% threshold of the negotiated 47% target. Although MSG performance remained lower than pre-pandemic rates, it increased slightly from the prior year’s percentage of 46.01%.

Enrollment: Enrollment increased 15% from the PY21 to PY22, for a total of 32,401 students. The state saw a shift in demographics with ABE enrollment increasing by 8%, and ESL enrollment increasing by 33% from the prior year. Despite these increases, overall enrollment is still 25% lower than pre-pandemic enrollment (FY19). GOAE will continue to provide marketing and recruitment support to programs to increase enrollment.

Employment After Exit: GOAE saw a slight increase in second quarter employment from 46.31% to 46.62% and a three-percentage point increase in fourth quarter employment from 44.21% to 47.14%.

Credential Attainment: The credential attainment indicator increased four percentage points, from 58.9% in PY21 to 62.9% in PY22. Students earned 550 additional credentials in PY22 (1,679) than FY22 (1,129).

Distance Education

In PY22, programs continued to offer distance education and virtual services through the Blackboard LMS, but also re-opened many in-person services. The data reflect this shift in service delivery. In PY22, 21% of participants were classified as distance education and 28% of contact hours were proxy hours, compared to 39% of students and 42% of contact hours in the previous year.

Integration with One-stop Partners

Describe how the State eligible agency, as the entity responsible for meeting one-stop requirements under 34 CFR part 463, subpart J, carries out or delegates its required one-stop roles to eligible providers. Describe the applicable career services that are provided in the one-stop system. Describe how infrastructure costs are supported through State and local options.

Per 34 CFR § 463.415, GOAE delegated its required one-stop responsibilities to local providers. In Georgia, the 19 Local Workforce Delivery Areas (LWDAs) do not directly align with the service delivery areas of the state’s 30 adult education providers. Therefore, GOAE designated a primary adult education one-stop partner in each LWDA to fulfill one-stop partner responsibilities, including signing the MOU and paying infrastructure costs. Adult education programs that were not the primary one-stop partner were still required to engage with their local one-stop(s) by providing direct linkage to their services and participating in one-stop partner meetings.

GOAE accomplished this delegation through two grant assurances – one related to negotiating infrastructure costs and another related to ensuring programs have direct linkage to the one-stops in the LWDAs where they serve students.

GOAE ensures adult education programs are fulfilling one-stop partner responsibilities through both desktop and onsite monitoring. Onsite monitoring includes the review of one-stop MOU agreements and interviews with one-stop and LWDB representatives. In addition, GOAE annually collects and reviews infrastructure cost payments.

Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education

Describe how the state is using funds under Section 243 to support the following activities under the IELCE program:

IELCE Funds and grants

Describe when your State held a competition [the latest competition] for IELCE program funds and the number of grants awarded by your State to support IELCE programs.

In November 2020, GOAE closed its competitive grant round for the next four-year cycle which runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025. To ensure services were available across the entire state, GOAE relaunched its Integrated English Literacy & Civics Education (IELCE) grant competition in March 2021. At that time, GOAE awarded grants to 12 adult education programs. Out of the 12 programs, three offered only IELCE services, and nine offered comprehensive services including IELCE, adult basic, adult secondary, and corrections education. In PY21, two of the comprehensive providers struggled to use their IELCE funding and, therefore, did not receive an IELCE allocation for FY22. Additionally, in December 2022, GOAE terminated one IELCE provider due to programmatic and fiscal concerns. Despite these challenges, in PY22, GOAE allocated $2,030,649 of IELCE funds and served 3,498 IELCE students. As GOAE begins planning for its next competitive grant cycle, it will ensure it provides direct and equitable access to eligible organizations that may be interested in applying for IELCE grants, with the goal of recruiting additional IELCE-focused providers.

Training activity

Describe your State efforts in meeting the requirement to provide IELCE services in combination with integrated education and training activities;

Per federal and state requirements, all IELCE providers offered a GOAE-approved Integrated Education and Training opportunity to IELCE students. The IETs were aligned to the workforce needs as identified in the local and regional workforce plans. Training opportunities included: Dental Assistant, Guest Services, Forklift, Phlebotomy, Medical Administrative Assistant, CAN, and Early Childhood. 128 IELCE students participated in an IET.

GOAE also implemented two policy changes to support IET implementation. First, it added a negotiated target for IET attainment. Second, it required programs offer at least one IET per quarter. These policy changes ensure that students gain industry-recognized credentials through IETs and that students have an IET offering available regardless of when they enroll in the program.

IELCE Section 243(c)(1)

Describe how the State is progressing towards program goals of preparing and placing IELCE program participants in unsubsidized employment in in-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency as described in section 243(c)(1) and discuss any performance results, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing those program goals; and

As indicated above, all IELCE providers offered an IET aligned with workforce needs. In addition, each program has a Career Service Specialist focused on supporting students in their transition from the adult education program to the workforce.

To diversify its IET offerings and meet the state’s need for highly trained child care teachers, GOAE received a grant from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to offer Early Childhood IETs to adult education and IELCE students. Through these IET offerings, students can earn a CDA or early childhood TCC. In PY22, seven adult education programs received DECAL grant funds to implement early childhood IETs. Programs will implement these IETs in the current program year.

To provide additional technical assistance to IELCE programs, GOAE reorganized to GPSC team so that one GPSC focuses exclusively on ESL and IELCE programs. GOAE hopes that this dedicated attention will ensure more robust IELCE programming that meets students’ unique needs.

IELCE Section 243(c)(2)

Describe how the State is progressing towards program goals of ensuring that IELCE program activities are integrated with the local workforce development system and its functions as described in section 243(c)(2) and discuss any performance results, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing those program goals.

GOAE ensures that IELCE providers are part of the local workforce development system through the following methods:

GOAE requires programs implement IETs aligned with workforce needs. In PY22, IELCE IET offerings included, but were not limited to: Dental Assistant, Guest Services, Forklift, Phlebotomy, Medical Administrative Assistant, CNA, and Early Childhood.
IELCE providers are required to partner with their Local Workforce Development Boards. Several program administrators of programs that offer comprehensive services, including IELCE, serve on their Local Workforce Development Board. In addition, all programs are required to have a direct linkage with their local one-stop providers.

Adult Education Standards

If your State has adopted new challenging K-12 standards under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, describe how your Adult Education content standards are aligned with those K-12 standards.

GOAE adopted the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) for ABE/ASE student instruction and the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) for ESL student instruction in 2014. GOAE supports the alignment and implementation of the standards through:

Introductory Courses: In Collaboration with the National Centers for Families Learning (NCFL), GOAE offers two, six-week long introductory courses annually. Instructors become familiar with the CCRS and understand the role standards play in the adult education classroom.
Advanced Standards Courses: GOAE's advanced standards course on Blackboard provides a deep dive into standards, strategies, and online resources. In response to data and observations from the annual needs assessment and monitoring, as well as feedback from programs, OAE partnered with Insight Education to design a more intensive three-day training. This training focuses on how to integrate standards into lesson plans, curricula, and activities, as well as how to measure the effectiveness of standards integration.
Grant Program Support Coordinators (GPSC): Grant Program Support Coordinators (GPSC) support standards implementation by conducting on-site and virtual visits to programs. They review lesson plans and classroom instruction to verify that: (a) teachers use standards, (b) the teaching objectives are aligned to the standards, and (c) the activities support students in reaching those standards. GOAE also employs a Quality Instruction Rubric (QIR) to assess lesson plans and instruction. The QIR evaluates Learning Objectives and Standards Alignment, Support and Community Emphasis, Applied Learning, Peer-to-Peer Interaction, and Mastery of Concepts.

Programs for Corrections Education (AEFLA Section 225)

What was the relative rate of recidivism for criminal offenders served? Please describe the methods and factors used in calculating the rate for this reporting period.

The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) operates its own education program for offenders, but its funding isn't sufficient to accommodate all offenders and facilities. To bridge this gap, local adult education providers offer classes in various correctional settings like prisons, local jails, day reporting centers, and substance abuse centers. In PY22, 24 adult education programs served 2,155 correctional students. From PY21 to PY22, programs reopened classes in correctional facilities and enrollment grew 21%. Throughout this period, correctional students achieved 984 measurable skills gains across 2,176 periods of participation, with 45% of participants achieving the outcome across all participation periods.

Four local adult education providers offered Integrated Education and Training (IET) in corrections. 193 inmates approaching re-entry participated in IET offerings, including IET Forklift Operator and Welding. 186 inmates earned industry-recognized credentials.

GDC calculates its recidivism rate using the number of new arrests or parole violations that result in a person returning to prison within three years of release. Recently, GOAE and the Technical College System of Georgia’s Data and Research established a data sharing agreement with GDC to calculate recidivism rates for adult education correctional students. GOAE now collects GDC numbers for its adult education students to support the data match. GOAE is exploring how to improve the match rate to better report recidivism. The most recent data for individuals released in FY18, indicate a 12% recidivism rate for adult education students (who matched the GDC data) and a 29% recidivism rate for incarcerated individuals that did not participate in adult education.

Narrative Report for Georgia 2022