General Educational Development Testing Services
The General Educational Development (GED) Testing Program is sponsored by the Technical College System of Georgia in conjunction with the American Council on Education (ACE), a private, nonprofit association of colleges and universities. ACE is the regulatory arm between DTAE and 105 local testing sites strategically located statewide.

The Office of Adult Literacy provides GED Examiner Training Certification Workshops, inspects and certifies testing center locations, conducts on-site program monitoring, and provides technical assistance to all local testing center staff

During calendar year 1996, the GED test was administered to 32,477 examinees; 17,914 examinees were awarded GED diplomas. More than 19,000 examinees took the exam to qualify for further education, approximately 8,500 for employment purposes, and the remainder for personal reasons.

GED Participant Status 1996

Staff Development
Georgia's statewide system of staff development offers all adult literacy educators in public and private programs ongoing professional staff development training. The OAL, in conjunction with the University of Georgia College of Education, conducted 53 five-hour, mandatory staff development workshops in seven areas of the state. More than 1,200 adult literacy teachers attended these workshops. Additionally, 15 adult literacy teachers participated in the newly established Staff Development Inquiry Practitioners Project.

The Office of Adult Literacy joined Literacy Link in conducting a statewide staff development satellite downlink videoconference for adult literacy providers. "Planning and Funding Technology for Adult Literacy" focused on how to prepare a plan and find funds for adult education and literacy technology.

Student Assessment
The assessment system for adult literacy students includes informal and formal assessment. Designed to measure student performance, submission of pre/post-student testing is required following 75 hours of instruction. One of five formal assessment instruments is administered to place students into appropriate instruction levels. Informal assessment helps instructors monitor progress and certify attainment of competencies.

Public Awareness Campaign Through the Office of Adult Literacy, Georgia has joined the National Institute for Literacy to launch "Literacy: It's A Whole New World", a yearlong public awareness campaign.

EAGLE Awards
In its fourth year, the Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education (EAGLE) Award program recognizes students enrolled in adult literacy classes. Local teachers for public, private, or volunteer agencies nominate students in each of seven categories of literacy. These students compete at local, service delivery area, consortium, and state levels. For one year, the seven winners serve as "Ambassadors for Literacy" in their local communities and throughout the state.

Eighth Annual Literacy Conference
First Lady Shirley Miller and BellSouth President-Georgia Carl Swearingen convened the Eighth Annual Literacy Conference. The opening session speaker was Miss America 1997, Tara Dawn Holland, whose central issue and campaign in seeking the Miss America crown was literacy. Conference activities included informal workshops on contemporary family issues and participation by past and current Literacy Ambassadors. At the dosing session, Governor Zell Miller praised the recipients of the Governor's Award for Achievement in Workplace Literacy. Mr. Donald Salter was recognized for establishing a foundation to finance GED testing for residents of Upson, Taylor, Talbot, and Crawford counties.

Georgia Tech Satellite Literacy Program
In cooperation with CRT, Inc., Literacy Action, Inc., and the Center for Rehabilitation Technology of the Georgia Institute of Technology, DTAE participates in one of Georgia's largest distance learning projects. Live satellite broadcasts are received at 95 sites and provide reading instruction to 529 low-level readers.

Certified Literate Community Program
The Certified Literate Community Program (CLCP) continued to expand the state's adult literacy efforts. Thirty-two communities achieved participant status, while another 25 are in various stages of organizing. CLCP brings businesses, educational groups, government entities, and other agencies together to address local literacy needs and boost enrollment in adult education programs. CLCPs also initiate unique programs to reduce illiteracy rates and secure local funding.

Workplace Learning Programs
The number of organizations receiving the Governor's Award for Achievement in Workplace Learning increased by 54% over the previous year, with 100 awards presented by Governor Zell Miller at Georgia's Eighth Annual Literacy Conference. Since the program's inception in 1991, 391 awards have been presented. The Gold Award signifies workplace program implementation, and the Platinum Award represents accomplishment in workplace assessment. This year, the Gold Award reached an all-time high of 61 awards and the Platinum Award totaled 39 awards, a 95% increase over calendar year 1995.

Georgia's first Workforce Development Conference featured speakers Governor Zell Miller and Mr. Randolph B. Cardoza, Commissioner of the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism. More than 450 representatives from businesses, community organizations, adult literacy programs, and advisory committees attended the conference.

Teachers' Academy
The Teachers' Academy provides intensive professional development for adult literacy teachers. This year's academy focused on Family Literacy.

Full-Time Literacy Teachers
0AUs goal is to place a full-time literacy teacher in each Georgia county. Full-time literacy teachers have been placed in 133 counties, with only 26 counties remaining for FY 98 placement.

Teacher Accountability
As a companion process to the full-time teacher initiative, an accountability instrument that will be completed monthly by adult literacy directors is being streamlined in accordance with the duties and responsibilities of teachers.

Consortium Activities
The Consortium mini-conferences featured learning exercises for the at-risk or hard-to-reach student. At Georgia's Eighth Annual Literacy Conference, members of the six separate consortiums focused on a theme relevant to a specific geographic area.

Collaborative Projects
Grant recipients are encouraged to maximize the fiscal resources available for service to under-educated adults by forming collaborative projects at the local level. Locally, the service delivery areas initiated 490 agreements with other agencies and organizations. The majority of the agreements are with local boards of education, businesses, industries, and churches.