P age A 4
A prii 10, 1 9 9 6 • T he P ortland O bserver
E d u c a tio n
Nation’s Prison Population Growing, But Not Educationally
A s prison education programs are
being cut, a disturbing new study on
the education and literacy o f Am eri
ca’s prisoners shows that one-third
are likely to fail at simple tasks such
as using a map, and two-thirds would
have difficulty writing a letter to ex
plain a billingerror, threatening their
ability to function in society, accord
ing to Educational Testing Service.
Captive Students: Education and
Training in Am erica's Prisons is the
first comprehensive study that looks
at the literacy skills o f persons incar
cerated in state and federal prisons,
the training and education programs
offered to such inmates and the im
pact o f these efforts on recidivism.
"Most o f the people in Am erica's
prisons w ill eventually be paroled
yet two-thirds don’t have the literacy
skills needed to function in society,’
explained Nancy Cole, president of
E T S . "W hile studies show that train
ing and education in prisons lead to
increased post-release success in the
job market, at least half o f all state
correctional institutions have cut their
inmate education programs during
the last five years. It is counterpro
ductive to crime prevention to have
people released from prison who are
lacking in the most fundamental skills
for employment and citizenship.”
“Our study shows that a large pro
portion ofthe prisoner populations is
weak in using printed materials o f
the kind encountered in workplaces
and daily life,” explained co-author
Paul Barton, director o f E T S ’s Poli-
A pril
Garden hints from your OSU Extension Agent
• Early April: fertilize lawn, let spring rains carry the fertilizer into the soil.
• II lawns are becoming thin and sickly, consider oversccding with a mixture of
perennial ryegrass and fine fescue.
• Dogwood trees, as they begin new growth, need protection against anthracnose
diseases Apply daconil or a copper fungicide.
• Help your youngsters start a garden this year with sunflowers, carrots, green beans,
pumpkins, sweet com, and peas.
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amendments as needs are shown by soil analysis.
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• Use floating row covers to keep insects such as cabbage maggot adult flies and
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cabbage family, onions, and carrots.
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• Check lawns for presence of crane fly larvae, and treat with Sevin or Dursban
• Plant these vegetables:
Oregon coast: beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, slicing
cucumbers, endive, leeks, lettuce, onion sets, peas, potatoes.
Western valleys, Portland, Roseburg, Medford: broccoli, Brussels sprouts,
cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, chives, endive, leeks, lettuce, peas,
radishes, rhubarb, rutabagas, spinach, turnips.
Central Oregon and higher elevations of eastern Oregon (late April): peas,
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Columbia and Snake River valleys, Ontario: snap and lima beans, beets,
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cy Information Center. "One-third o f
prisoners at Level 1 (the lowest on a
five-point scale) were unlikely to be
able to do tasks such as finding an
intersection on a map, fillin g out an
application for a Social Security card,
or calculating the cost o f a purchase
Another third at Level 2 were unlike
ly to be able to write a letter explain
ing a billing error or figure out miles
per gallon using information from a
mileage record chart.”
Other findings include:
• Only 4 to 7 percent attained the
two highest literacy levels on the
scales.
• One-third o f all B lack men in
their 20s are under the supervision o f
the criminal justice system on any
given day. Five years ago that figure
was one-quarter.
• While corrections spending has
grown dramatically at the state level,
education budgets have not. Califor
nia and Florida w ill each spend $2
billion for new prisons in the next
few years.
• The most common finding o f 20
years o f research is that inmates ex
posed to educat ion programs are more
likely to be employed and less likely
to end up back in prison than nonpar
ticipant.
• Among states who do offer edu
cation programs, New Yo rk and T e x
as spent the most for education ($50
and $40.7 m illion, respectively).
Montana, Alaska and W isconsin
spent the leas, (less than $500,000).
The findings on literacy were
drawn from the National Adult Liter
acy Survey and were based on in-
person interviews with 27,000 re
spondents in prisons and homes
across the country and gauged the
prose, document and quantitative lit
eracy o f prisoners.
“The crime rate has basically been
flat over the last 20 years or so, but
incarcerations are up," explained co
author Richard Coley. “A s prison
education approaches have waxed
and waned, the flow into the prison
system has changed from a steadily
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Portland Com m unity C ollege
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three campuses.
The event is in fo rm atio n al
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Women's Day events w ill take
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pus, 17705 N. W. Springville Rd.;
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Pork............................$ 1 5 .0 0
Beef................................ $ 1 2 .0 0
DINNERS
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SANDWICHES
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Portland, Oregon 97201
w <•«//.• 1-503-282-8040
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DESSERT
Potato Pie....................$ 1.00
Peach Cobbler............ $ 1.00
Whole Pie.........................$ 7 .0 0
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Call Ahead
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281-7957
Gift pack
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERVICE
OPENED MARCH 1.1996
BAR-B-QUE DINNER
and the Cascade Campus, 705 N
Killingsw orth St.
P C C instructors w ill in tro
duce their program s and co n
duct m in i-cla sse s on to p ics like
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Center. Send request to E T S Policy
lnform ationCenter(04-R), Rosedale
Road, Princeton, N J . 08541-0001
For additional information, call 609-
734-5694 or contact via e-mail at
pic@ ets.org.
E T S is the world’s largest private
educational measurement institution
and a leader in educational research.
It develops and administers achieve
ment, occupational and admission
tests, such as the S A T for the College
Board, for clients in education, gov
ernment and business. E T S has six
regional offices and annually admin
isters 9 million exams worldwide.
rising stream to a torrent overflow
ing the banks o f prison capacity.
“Now, cuts in education programs
are leaving many prisoners unable to
learn skills that would help them lead
normal lives. In fact 37 states said
there was a waiting I is, in their systems
for services. With so many of our
young adults incarcerated, and such a
large proportion o f minority youth, are
we comfortable with their overall low
levels o f literacy?” Captive Students:
Education and Training in America’s
Prisons is available for $9.50 prepaid.
Make your check or money order
payable to E T S Policy Information
t
189
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