California Budget Project: TWO REPORTS ON BASIC SKILLS INSTRUCTION

By smf/4LAKids from The California Budget Project | http://www.cbp.org/

Not one but two reports this month from the California Budget Project conclude:

"A college degree or industry-recognized vocational certificate is now the principal pathway to a well-paid job. Increasingly, remedial English and mathematics and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs are the gateway to college and skills training. These programs are of increasing importance because many recent high school graduates, high school dropouts, and low-skilled working adults lack the fundamental English and mathematics proficiency required for postsecondary education. Until recent cutbacks, California’s basic skills programs –which provide remedial education – served more than 1.5million students a year at a cost to the state of more than $1.0 billion."

AT A CROSSROADS CALIFORNIA’S BASIC SKILLS STUDENTS: WHO SUCCEEDS AND WHY May 2011 A Publication of the California Budget Project Acknowledgments Vicky Lovell and Barbara Baran prepared this report. Ryan Sandler conducted the data analysis and wrote the methodology appendix. The authors wish to thank the following..... CBP: Basic Skills Students AT A CROSSROADS GATEWAY TO A BETTER FUTURE: CREATING A BASIC SKILLS SYSTEM FOR CALIFORNIA May 2011 A Publication of the California Budget Project Acknowledgments Barbara Baran and Vicky Lovell prepared this report. The authors wish to thank the following individuals for sharing their time and insights: Vickie Choitz CPB: Basic Skills Gateway