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Mission & History | Facts About Adult Education

Many adults need better basic skills for success at home and work

The national Adult Literacy Survey studied literacy levels of Americans on real-life tasks like addressing an envelope and reading a street map. The Survey placed people on one of five literacy levels.

• 1 out of 4 Americans placed at the lowest literacy level, meaning they have trouble with simple, everyday tasks.
• Another 25% scored at Literacy Level 2, meaning they would probably not be able to do the tasks required by most of today’s jobs.
• New Hampshire adults did better than the national average, BUT more than 295,000 people scored at the lowest 2 literacy levels.
• 12% of NH adults were at Literacy Level 1, needing a lot of improvement.
• 25% were at Literacy Level 2, needing some improvement.

Many adults lack a high school diploma

• In the U.S., 34 million people 18 and older (16 percent of the population) have not graduated from high school.
• New Hampshire has one of the highest percentages of high school graduates in the nation (only 12.7% non-graduates) but there are still 125,000 adults without high school credentials.
• Last year 1,560 New Hampshire adults passed the GED Tests to earn high school equivalency certificates.
• Since GED Testing began in 1943, there have been more than 59,000 graduates in New Hampshire.

Many adults want to learn English

• English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is the fastest growing adult education in the country.
• 48% of all adult education learners in U.S. federally-funded adult education programs are in ESOL classes.
• New Hampshire has fewer English language learners than many states, but ESOL classes are growing here, too.
• ESOL students make up 32% of NH adult education participants.
• ESOL adult learners have increased from 700 in 1985 to more than 2500 last year.