The room is bright. Student art and projects cover the walls. Sets of colorful books fill the bookshelves. The video screen is frozen on what appears to be an acrimonious picture: a woman pointing at one of a group of men seated at a table. A whiteboard shows two statements. The students are sitting around four tables, and each group is engaged in intense discussion facilitated by a group leader and documented by two student note-takers.

This class shares similarities with many ABE classes in Massachusetts. But look around carefully and you will notice a few unusual features. The students are uniformly neat. Some wear orange costumes; some wear gray, and another wears green. The teacher wears a beeper. You may occasionally see a blue uniformed officer pass by the window.

You are observing a class in one of the 13 Massachusetts Department of Education (MDOE) funded ABE instructional programs for the incarcerated. Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS) of the MDOE is committed to its belief in the value of correctional educational programs. ACLS funds its ABE instructional programs for the incarcerated an approximate $1,300,000 per year. By using both federal and state funding, Massachusetts is able to exceed the 10 percent federal ceiling on this category of funding; in fact, the $1.3 million represents 13.5 percent of our federal ABE allocation.

ACLS believes that large numbers of inmates have had scant opportunity to build a useful and law-abiding life: At least half of the incarcerated population does not have the basic skills that would make this possible.

Facts About Prisoners and Education
Some of the ways in which educational standards of those entering correctional facilities compare with educational standards of the general population are as follows:

The National Institute for Literacy states that 70 percent of prisoners are not adequately equipped to perform tasks like writing a letter, explaining an error on a credit card bill, or understanding a bus schedule.

It also states that approximately half of all prisoners have not earned a high school diploma or a GED compared with 24 percent of the general population.

In October 2000, the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education stated that among the Massachusetts 22,000 incarcerated adults and youth, 68 percent de-monstrated reading skills below an eighth grade level.

Adult Basic Education Decreases Recidivism
Based on these statistics, MDOE holds ABE classes in correctional facilities in the belief that those who participate in educational programs while in prison are less likely to become repeat offenders.

This belief is supported by the following recent surveys:

The MassINC report, From Cell to Street: A Plan to Supervise Inmates after Release (January 2002) states in its Executive Summary: "Although many rehabilitative efforts have proved disappointing in their lasting efforts, literacy programs are the key exception." (p. 6)

The Office of Correctional Education/Correctional Education Association (OCE/CEA) carried out a Three State Recidivism Study (September 2001) in Maryland, Minnesota, and Ohio. More than 3,000 inmates released from prisons in 1997 and 1998 are reported in this longitudinal study. The release cohort was followed for a three-year period following release from incarceration. This study shows that a large percentage of ex-inmates will return to prison, but there is one way in which that figure can be reduced: education while inside. Of those who take part in education programs, 43.5 percent will return to prison; of those who do not receive education, 56.7 percent will return.

Bob Bickerton is the director of Adult and Community Learning Services at the Massachusetts Department of Education. He can be reached at: rbickerton@doe.mass.edu