Kentucky adult education shows a regional lead

The Southern Regional Education Board has released a new report showing some important Kentucky growth in adult learning, outpacing most of the other states in the region.

From 2005 to 2008, Kentucky adult education enrollment grew:

• 25 percent in adult basic education--third fastest in the SREB region
• 71 percent in adult secondary education --fastest in the region
• 39 percent in English as a second language--again fastest in the region

Kentucky's GED passing rate rose over the same period from 73 percent to 78 percent, giving us the third highest passing rate in the region and the second greatest improvement in the region.

The report, A Smart Move in Tough Times, offers Kentucky as an example of a state actually pushing forward on a real strategy to face a real challenge:

Quite simply, the economic well-being of our region is at stake if we allow the growing group of less-educated, working-age adults in SREB states to expand further. Their low levels of education contribute to higher health-care costs and unemployment rates, diminish tax revenues and hinder economic development. Where better-trained workers live, good jobs will follow.