Integrated Basic Education and Skills
Training
(I-BEST)
Talent and skills determine the competitive edge in today’s global market. Yet in Washington, 400,000 working adults do not have a high school diploma and an additional one million adults lack education beyond high school.
Today, most new jobs paying a family wage require some education beyond high school.
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) research finds that only 13 percent of English as a Second Language (ESL) students and less than a third of adult basic education (ABE) students continue on to college-level work.
In Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges, Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) pairs workforce training with ABE or ESL so students learn literacy and workplace skills at the same time. Adult literacy and vocational instructors work together to develop and deliver instruction. Colleges provide higher levels of support and student services to address the needs of non-traditional students.
- There are more than 140 approved programs, expanding each year since the 2006 launch of I-BEST.
- 2,795 students were served in 2009, a one-year increase of 58 percent.
The adult basic education department, workforce education department and student achievement staff are dedicated to assisting colleges become more effective at serving low-income students who are struggling to balance home, work, and education.
State Board staff provide colleges with technical assistance and information on best practices to ensure low-income students successfully complete integrated programs and find family wage careers.
The SBCTC developed Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) to address the changing needs of employers and students. It tested traditional notions that students must first complete all levels of adult basic education before they can advance in workforce education training programs.
In Washington state, over half of the students come to community and technical colleges with the goal of getting to work. Research showed that students were not transitioning to higher levels of education.
“Only 13 percent of the students who started in ESL programs went on to earn at least some college credits. Less than one-third (30 percent) of adult basic education (ABE/GED) students made the transition to college-level courses. Only four to six percent of either group ended up getting 45 or more college credits or earning a certificate or degree within five years.” |
Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students:
Lessons for Community College Policy and Practice
from a Longitudinal Student Tracking Study
(Prince, Jenkins: April 2005). |
I-BEST moves students further and faster to certificate and degree completion. As a result, I-BEST was designed to directly transition into college-level programs and help students build skills that will move them forward.
- I-BEST programs must include college-level professional-technical credits that are required of all students in the selected program and are part of a career pathway.
- All students must qualify for federally supported levels of basic skills education.
- Students must be pre-tested using CASAS (the standardized test used statewide to assess ABE and ESL students).
- An instructor from basic skills and an instructor from the professional-technical program must jointly instruct in the same classroom with at least a 50 percent overlap of the instructional time.
- Faculty must develop integrated program outcomes, jointly plan curriculum, and jointly assess student learning and skill development.
- I-BEST programs must appear on the demand list for the local area and meet a minimum set wage.
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