Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Programs
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the following as it pertains to adult education and literacy programs and activities under title II of WIOA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).
a. Aligning of Content Standards
Describe how the eligible agency has aligned its content standards for adult education with State-adopted challenging academic content standards, as adopted under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)).
Current Narrative:
Florida's Vision for Adult Education
The vision of Florida’s adult education system is to hold learners at the center and deliver outcomes that promote full participation in the workforce, resulting in high-quality credentials of value, and close equity and achievement gaps.
Florida's Strategic Priorities
- Priority 1: Promote regional partnerships to ensure comprehensive approaches that improve learner outcomes.
- Priority 2: Expand the state’s talent pipeline by attaining credentials of value and acquiring postsecondary certifications, industry-recognized credentials, and degrees.
- Priority 3: Ensure all learners receive high-quality instruction that prioritizes measurable labor market needs and outcomes while eliminating equity and achievement gaps in the community.
- Priority 4: Incent, measure, and support enhanced program effectiveness.
(a) Aligning of Content Standards
Florida has a longstanding history of standards-based instruction from the original Sunshine State Standards, the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, and in 2014, the adoption of the Florida Standards (English Language Arts and Mathematics) by the State Board of Education. The Florida Department of Education has implemented new standards that represent the highest quality knowledge-based standards in the nation.
The new Florida Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards provide an excellent foundation for teaching and learning for adult learners. The B.E.S.T. Standards are the official state-adopted academic content standards fulfilling statutory requirements under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s. 6311(b)(1)). The B.E.S.T. Standards share the dual purpose of preparing K-12 and adult students to be college and career-ready.
Florida sets clear expectations between K-12 and its content-equivalent counterpart in adult education by ensuring standards-based instruction is aligned to state-adopted content standards in K-12. This guarantees all students (K-12 or adult) have access to a high-quality, market-driven education regardless of their pathway to graduation. The state’s Adult Basic Education (ABE) standards are the grade level equivalent of K-8 of the B.E.S.T. Standards and are revised and reviewed annually by the Division of Career and Adult Education (DCAE). The State Board of Education approves the adult education curriculum frameworks containing the aligned standards.
At the secondary level, adult high school credit programs implement the same course descriptions and standards as those used in the K-12 educational system and adult students participate in the same statewide assessment program measuring student mastery of the B.E.S.T. Standards and, upon successful completion, adult education students earn a standard adult high school diploma. GED® preparation courses are a component of Florida’s adult secondary level programming aligned with Florida’s Standards and its college and career readiness standards. Upon successful passage of all four subject test areas, students are awarded a state of Florida High School Diploma (high school equivalency diploma) issued by the Florida Department of Education.
A high school equivalency diploma is issued to candidates who successfully demonstrate competency in the areas of Reasoning through Language Arts, Mathematical Reasoning, Science, and Social Studies. The assessment used for the diploma program is the 2014 GED® Test, which was selected through a competitive procurement to designate a single assessment product for high school equivalency. The review process confirmed the alignment of the assessment with the existing challenging academic standards. The current contract period for using the assessment is through June 2024.
In the end, the four-year State Plan communicates Florida’s commitment to the continuous improvement of adult education programs and equitable access to quality adult education programs to all students, including special populations. It aims to not just align its adult basic education and secondary adult education programs to the state’s new B.E.S.T. Standards but proposes aggressive and innovative ways to reengage Florida’s adults in the completion of their high school diploma while also connecting them to a credential of value or a postsecondary credential.