Learner Persistence: Implications for Policy

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Learner Persistence
John Comings
NCSALL/Harvard Graduate School of Education

Implication for Policy

• One program in Manteca, CA. did get district to cover child care. If this really improves persistence, it’s useful to know how much ( and leverage other programs to follow suit)
• Evidence NRS to capture broaden range of “success”
• Send out questionnaire (yes/no) to adult schools asking which practices are used. That encourages schools to adopt those practices. (this is an alternative to mandating these practices)
• Research indicates need for examination of resources at program agency, regional and state levels
• Investigate how much time and money i.e., resources spent on “no shows” and consider whether resources allocation should be changed and others support services introduce/put in place at “orientation” for “no shows”
• Cost of site license
• Review and reform intake process
• Take one negative force ask every classroom (each to work on remediating or eliminating the negative force with his/her class of students.
• Introduce concept of stopping out vs. dropping out and what that means
• Look at issues of credit/noncredit and when or how elected credit can be support for staff development is essential
• It is time to re-examine and reframe the NRS
• Fund the creation of other, better assessments
• Advocate spending dollars for counseling.
• Program staff should make clear that it’s a common fact that students will stop out; programs should offer support to students during these periods.
• Need to rethink present funding system to accommodate try-outs, intermittent learners
• Support linkages-identify how we can fund these
• Additional times for support services
• Staff development for support
• Budgeting for counseling services
• Online access initiatives
• How to expend student assistance
• Create equivalence for multiple mode delivery options (funding)
• Examining of current support and support services resulting from students’ need assessments.
• Elimination of current practices in registration and plac3ement that are actually counter productive
• Doing orientation for students
• Recognition of intermittence by funding agencies
• Does ABE and ESL learners have some self-study advantages at shat point is that possible in the process
• How do you increase access for students
• Marginal vs. open enrollment
• Independent study vs. direct instruction