Getting To Know The Neighbors

The demographics of Nevada adult education are shifting rapidly. From 1990 to 2000, Nevada topped the nation in percentage of total population growth (Perry and Mackun, 2001, p.3) with a population increase of 66%. With more than 95,000 linguistically isolated adults* and over 300,000 adults age 18 and over lacking a high school diploma or its equivalent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003b and c), many Nevada adult educators are understandably concerned about growth and the ability of their programs to continue providing quality adult education services.

The question of “How many are you serving?” may be just as pressing as “How well are you serving them?” In an era of accountability, knowing who is walking through the program’s doors for services is more critical than ever before. Learning from the “neighbors” in adult education is not only pleasurable but an effective way to improve accountability. The answers to questions often come from experienced and knowledgeable “neighbors” around the state.

But the adult educator in the next seat at a statewide meeting may not be the only “neighbor” – and where does the adult educator turn when Nevada “neighbors” can’t answer a burning question? One avenue may be getting to know the “neighbors” from states with similar demographics – and likely comparable experiences. Talking with these adult educator “neighbors” might yield the answers to questions that otherwise go unanswered. And talking with the “neighbors” doesn’t necessarily mean expensive trips to conferences thousands of miles away. With the availability of internet services and free long-distance minutes, connecting with adult educators in other states could be more convenient and less costly than ever before.

Getting to know the neighbors begs the question, “So, just who is my neighbor?” In other words, which states are similar to Nevada in demographics and how can “similar” be measured? To answer these questions, a look at the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) website is helpful. The USDOE Office of Vocational and Adult Education hosts a data webpage (USDOE, 2003) on adult education enrollment information for every state in the U.S. and six areas or territories. Available data, probably familiar to most adult educators from the annual report**, includes enrollment type, ethnic group, and age group. The most recent year for which data is available on the webpage is FY2000 (i.e., 1999-2000).

Nationally nearly 3 million adults received adult education services in FY2000 (i.e., 1999-2000). Of those adult participants, 37% received ABE services, 38% received ESL services, and 25% received ASE services. Table 1 shows the ethnic groupings nationally, and the proportions of age groups are in Table 2.

Table 1: Ethnic Groups of Adult Education Participants in US (1999-2000)

Ethnic Group	Percent of Total Participants
American Indian	2%
Asian/Pacific Islander	7%
African American	21%
Hispanic	36%
White	34%

Table 2: Age Groups of Adult Education Participants in US (1999-2000)

Age Group (in Years)	Percent of Total Participants
16-18	16%
19-24	25%
25-44	43%
45-59	11%
60 and Over	4%

While summary national data provide a useful measure to compare the program’s data against, they aren’t useful for making connections to get answers to questions. Fortunately, the website lists data for each state so that comparisons can be made to identify similar states. It may be fascinating, not to mention surprising, to learn that Hawaii and Nevada have similar numbers of overall participants (as shown in Figure 1), and the temptation for a field trip to Hawaii to investigate the similarities could be very strong.

Still, Hawaiian adult education has diversity in ethnic and age groups that differs markedly from Nevada. Figure 2 compares differences in age groups for Hawaii, Nevada, and eight other states.

How Similar Is "Similar"?

Are other states more similar in program type, in ethnic groups, or in age groups – and how can similarity be measured? One method of comparison is to sort the figures for program types, ethnic groups, and age groups and identify a list of five states with numbers ranking immediately below that of Nevada and five states with numbers ranking immediately above Nevada. In some instances, though, raw numbers are less informative than the proportion of the number to total enrollment. For example, Nevada adult education does not serve nearly the same numbers of Hispanic participants as California or Texas, yet it serves very similar proportions of Hispanic participants as do those two large states.

For this project, 27 lists of numbers and proportions for program type, ethnic groups, and age groups were developed, and a state needed to appear on at least 9 of those lists to be considered “similar” to Nevada. As shown in Table 3, one state was on 13 lists, another was on 11, a third on 10, and three were on 9 lists.

Table 3: States with Rankings Similar to Nevada on 27 Lists

State Name	Number of Lists State Appeared On
Colorado	13
Utah	11
New Mexico	10
Connecticut	9
Iowa	9
Louisiana	9

Since Utah borders Nevada, and Colorado and New Mexico are one state removed, similarities are perhaps not surprising. Yet most adult educators in Nevada would probably not think of Connecticut, Iowa, or Louisiana immediately as “neighbors.” However, Connecticut is similar to Nevada in ESL and ASE enrollment type, as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, and Louisiana is similar in some age groups, as shown in Figure 5. Iowa is also similar to Nevada in three ethnic groups, as shown in Figure 6.

Answering the Questions

So which neighbors might have enough similarities to answer questions related to demographics? The answer depends on the type of demographic question. Of the states on the lists, Connecticut, Nevada, and Utah have the closest number of participants in total enrollment.

Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, and Utah have the most similar numbers of ABE participants.

Closest similarities among states by program type is highlighted in the following three boxes.

Connecticut and New Mexico serve about the same number of ESL participants as Nevada.

Connecticut, Iowa, Louisiana, and Nevada have the closest number of adult secondary (ASE) participants.

What about issues related to ethnic groups of participants, particularly those likely to be in ESL programs? Many, if not most, of Nevada’s English language learners are Hispanic. While proportions in Colorado (.46), Connecticut (.43), and Nevada (.49) are most similar when comparing ESL participants to total enrollment, Colorado (.55) has the closest proportion of Hispanic learners to Nevada (.57). These three states serve similar numbers and proportions of ESL participants (see Figure 3 and Figure 7). New Mexico serves a similar number of ESL participants and has the next closest proportion of Hispanic participants (.64) compared to Nevada. Table 4 shows the proportion of Hispanic enrollment to total enrollment and ESL enrollment to total enrollment for these four states.

Table 4: Proportions of Hispanic and ESL Enrollment to Total Enrollment in Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, and New Mexico (1999-2000)

State Name	Hispanic Enrollment to Total Enrollment	ESL Enrollment to Total Enrollment
Colorado	0.55	0.46
Connecticut	0.37	0.43
Nevada	0.57	0.49
New Mexico	0.64	0.28

In conclusion, while much diversity exists among adult education programs and states, some striking similarities occur, too.

Nevada adult educators who are able to connect with their counterparts in Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Utah may have the opportunity to learn much of value.

Adult educators from these states serve participants in comparable program types who are from similar ethnic backgrounds and in like enrollment groups. Talking with “neighbors” – either next door or thousands of miles away – might be just the answer.

References

Perry, M. & Mackun, P. (2001). Population Change and Distribution: 1990-2000. (U.S. Census Bureau 2000 Brief C2KBR/01-2). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. Available online as of July 4, 2003, at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-2.pdf.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2003a). Profile of Selected Social Characteristics:2000 (QT-02). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. Available online as of July 4, 2003, at: http://factfinder.census.gov.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2003b). Language Density by Linguistic Isolation by Age for the Population 5 Years and Over in Households (PCT-14). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. Available online as of July 4, 2003, at: http://factfinder.census.gov.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2003c). Sex by Age by Educational Attainment for the Population 18 Years and Over (PCT-25). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. Available online as of July 4, 2003, at: http://factfinder.census.gov.

U.S. Department of Education. (2003). Data and Statistics in Adult Education and Literacy. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Available online as of July 4, 2003 at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/datahome.html

Margaret Patterson is a researcher in Topeka, Kansas. The Nevada Neighbors project was sponsored through the "Special Funds" project administered through Nevada's Adult Basic Education Professional Development Leadership Activities grant with Title II Adult Education and Family Literacy Act funds. The project was based upon an idea originally conceived for Kansas Adult Education Association and presented in a web article entitled "Who Is My Neighbor?". The original article was supported through Margaret Patterson's research efforts with the Improving Adult Literacy Instruction project at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning.