School districts and colleges annually receive approximately $300 million in funding for adult education programs that serve 330,000 students in a variety of community locations. Some of these students are teenagers (age 18 and under) who enroll for dropout prevention and recovery purposes, but most are adults seeking to improve their employability.
Adult education programs have varying levels of success. Nearly three-quarters of high school students who co-enrolled in adult education stayed in school or graduated. In contrast, most adult students left programs before achieving documented learning gains. Those who remained and made gains had a better chance of improving their employment outcomes. Approximately half of unemployed adult students who made learning gains subsequently found employment. Adults who were employed prior to enrolling experienced higher earnings increases than employed adults who did not make gains.
The Legislature could consider several options for charging tuition and fees for adult education programs that should not jeopardize federal grant funding.

Summary of OPPAGA Reports Examining Workforce Education Programs and Legislative Options
Report 11-07 February 2011
Profile of Florida's Public Workforce Education Program Providers by Service Area
Report 10-65 December 2010
Colleges Perform Slightly Better Than School Districts in Career Education; Neither Clearly Outperforms in Adult Education
Report 10-63 December 2010
Consolidating Workforce Education Would Bring More Uniformity; Mixed Results on Whether Evidence Supports Other Stakeholder Arguments
Report 10-62 December 2010

Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.