Chapter 8: Working with Students in Correctional Programs 8-1 – 8-5

Section Title Page

8.1 Overview of GED Programs in the Department of Corrections 8-1

8.2 Meeting the Needs of Students 8-2

8.3 Student Intake 8-2

8.4 Instructional Methods and Materials 8-3

8.4.A Policies and Procedures 8-3

8.5 Strategies for Student Success 8-4

The Florida GED Teachers' Handbook

Chapter 8: Working with Students in Correctional Programs

8.1 Overview of GED Programs in the Department of Corrections

The Florida Department of Corrections administers GED programs in State of Florida correctional facilities as mandated by Florida Statute. The Office of Education and Job Training is responsible for all programming. The programs provided in state correctional facilities utilize the same curriculum frameworks and program standards as required under the Department of Education.

The Department of Corrections provides GED instructional programs for individuals who lack a high school credential, are 16 years of age or older, and score above 8.9 on a state approved assessment instrument.

The structure of correctional programs differs slightly from those of GED programs offered in school districts and community colleges. There are three categories of personnel working in correctional programs:

Education Supervisor – maintains oversight and supervision of the program, develops and implements the programs, has responsibility for budget management, provides leadership for the educational team, and ensures compliance with all laws, rules, policies, and procedures.
Placement and Transition Specialist – responsible for student entry and exit, provides education counseling, works directly with faculty to support student success, and handles all formal assessments of students in the program.
Teacher – responsible for all instruction duties, addresses the academic needs of the students, maintains a program improvement plan, modifies students’ instructional programs to ensure retention and success, and provides academic assessment of students.

Education programs are funded through appropriations from the Florida Legislature to the Department of Corrections. In addition, other funds are provided through grants from both state and federal sources. Correctional programs are performance-based, similar to the performance-based funding used in school districts and community colleges.

Correctional programs also maintain data required to demonstrate student achievement. The Department of Corrections uses the Offender Based Information System (OBIS) to maintain data. In addition to basic demographic information, OBIS also tracks students’ hours of attendance.

Each year, the Department of Corrections provides an annual report to the legislature about the educational programs and achievement of students. In addition, monthly reports are submitted from each individual educational program. The Department of Corrections Testing Coordinator develops a separate informational report based on the results of GED Testing through the Department of Corrections. These reports provide a comprehensive review of how programs are operating and the success of students within those programs.

Every three years, the American Correctional Association conducts an evaluation of correctional programs. In addition, the Florida Department of Education conducts program reviews on a regular basis. The Testing Coordinator conducts regular review of the GED Testing process to ensure compliance with all GED Testing Service requirements.

8.2 Meeting the Needs of Students

Educational programs are established based on the needs of the facility. Every effort is made to ensure that educational programs are offered at a time that allows for the greatest participation by the students. The Department of Corrections is committed to providing educational services to everyone in need.

GED students in correctional programs complete the same basic program as those in districts and community colleges. Educational programs use the GED Frameworks developed by the GED/Adult Secondary/Vocational Preparatory Instruction Taskforce working in conjunction with the Department of Education staff members. As changes are made in the curriculum frameworks from a state level, those changes are implemented in correctional programs.

The Department of Corrections provides GED Test accommodations for students who have a documented disability, whether that disability is physical, sensory, emotional, or a specific learning disability. Requests are submitted and reviewed on an individual basis. Inmates who require accommodations are referred to the Department of Correction’s Special Education Administrator to complete the required forms. Once the approval for accommodations has been granted, the appropriate modifications are made in the testing sessions for that student. As with adults in the general population, inmates who are approved may receive the following accommodations:

Extended time
Supervised breaks
Use of an audiocassette or Braille edition of the test
Assistance from a scribe
A private room for testing
An interpreter to provide sign language for a hearing impaired student (The interpreter is only allowed to sign the instructions for the test, and is not allowed to sign the actual passages or questions.)

8.3 Student Intake

When an inmate arrives at a correctional facility, he/she is provided an overview of the education program. The Placement and Transition Specialist reviews the inmate’s file to identify any specific educational needs of the inmate and to make recommendations as to program placement. Inmates are given an initial assessment using the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) to determine educational functioning levels. If a student meets the required minimums, he/she is enrolled in the GED Preparation program. At that time the inmate’s information is entered in the Offender Based Information System (OBIS). The system will then track the inmates’ attendance in class, test data, and hours of participation. In most facilities, students are assessed on a quarterly basis to determine if they are eligible to take the GED Tests.

8.4 Instructional Methods and Materials

While instructional methods may vary slightly from site to site, most Department of Corrections programs provide:

One-on-one individualized instruction
Small group instruction
Multimedia instruction, including computer-assisted instruction
Distance Learning through the Corrections Distance Learning Network (CDLN)

GED teachers in correctional facilities review instructional materials and select workbooks, textbooks, and software based on the needs of their individual programs and the students they serve. The Education Supervisor works with teachers to identify the materials and other resources that will help increase student success in the GED program. In addition to the standard GED curriculum as outlined in the GED Frameworks, education programs also provide workforce readiness instruction. As the GED Tests have changed over the years, they focus more and more on real-world skills. Workforce readiness instruction supports this focus by providing inmates with instruction in such areas as:

Development of problem-solving skills
Development of organizational skills
Improvement of verbal and written communication skills

Department of Corrections programs provide ongoing assessment of student progress. In GED programs, teachers use the Official GED Practice Tests, simulated GED Tests, and teacher-made assessments to determine how the student is doing and what areas still need to be addressed. Every effort is made to ensure that students have the skills they need to be successful on the GED Tests.

8.4.A Policies and Procedures

While there are restrictions placed on the types of materials and activities that are conducted in correctional education programs, there are many strategies that can be used in the program. Each program has its own policies and procedures regarding the materials that teachers may use. It is very important that teachers strictly adhere to those policies.

In general, teachers in correctional programs are not allowed to bring any outside materials into the program. All materials that are used in the program are approved and maintained at the site. Inmates are not allowed to use certain items, such as pens, scissors that have sharp points, rulers, and any other material that could be used inappropriately. Teachers are generally allowed to use newspapers in the classroom, but those newspapers must be obtained from the library or media center – not brought in from home. As a general rule, the Internet is not accessible to inmates, but teachers may download materials from the Internet and provide handouts in class. The important thing to remember is adherence to the facilities’ policies and procedures and when unsure of what to do to ask the appropriate staff member.

8.5 Strategies for Student Success

The GED Tests require that students possess critical thinking skills in addition to content knowledge. It is important that teachers in correctional programs implement strategies to help their students gain the critical thinking skills that will enable them to be successful on the GED Tests. The following strategies can be used in correctional programs; however it is important that teachers use only those strategies that adhere to site policies and procedures.

Initiate timed reading activities. Timed reading print materials are available through Jamestown Publishers. Contemporary/McGraw Hill provides timed reading activities in their Pre-GED materials. Institutions that utilize Steck-Vaughn’s Learning 100 computer assisted program can also access timed reading activities as part of that program. Timed reading enables students to steadily increase their reading speed and efficiency – both essential on the GED.
Initiate timed writing activities. Open and end each class with a 5-minute timed writing activity. Assign students a specific topic and have them write a paragraph or two on that topic. Continued practice in writing increases the students’ comfort level with writing, thus improving general writing skills. Provide some 45-minute timed writing activities to allow students to get used to the time frame they will have on the GED Tests. This will enable them to better budget their time on the Language Arts, Writing Test, Part II.
Develop small group activities that encourage students to ask questions and explore ideas and ways to solve problems. Use science or social studies content as the focus. Focus on one specific concept or principle in each session. Use key historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence in a group activity that has students discussing concepts or ideas such as “all men are created equal.” This concept can be used to trace the evolution of government in the United States.
Provide students with real-life problem-solving activities. Have them use their math skills to determine square footage of the classroom. After they compute the square footage, use newspaper ads to determine the costs of various types of flooring. Move this discussion to economics to discuss consumerism and how to be a smart shopper. (Special Note: In most classrooms, teachers can use paper rulers or paper measuring tapes to do the actual measurements.) This type of activity encourages thinking on the part of students and provides them with skills they can use after their release from the correction facility.

Divide the class into teams of two or three students. Find or write paragraphs that incorporate transition words, such as first, second, next, last, etc. Make individual sentence strips from the paragraph. Place the sentence strips in random order in an envelope. Give each team an envelope that has all of the sentences needed to build an effective paragraph. Have the teams put the sentences together to form a paragraph. Have the students read aloud their paragraphs. If a sentence is out of order, go to the next team. Continue until the paragraph has been put together correctly. As students’ skill levels improve, increase the level of difficulty of the paragraph. This activity is excellent for building organization skills needed on the Language Arts, Writing Test, Part I.
Have students write when they are working with other subjects. Students can summarize what they learned in Social Studies, Science, or any other subject area. Have students write about their reactions to political cartoons, expressing their opinions about whether they agree or disagree with the cartoonist. This can serve two purposes – (1) improve writing and (2) improve skills in interpreting graphic-based material.

Teach students how to estimate. Strategies to use can include: rounding to whole numbers, multiplying by 10 rather than 9, or dividing by whole numbers rather than multiplying by fractions. Use test examples to show students that good estimation can result in correct answers. Have the students work out the problem using computation skills to support their estimations

Start each day with a political cartoon from the newspaper provided in the library or media center. Use political cartoons that focus on current events so that students can develop skills in interpreting what the cartoonist is trying to portray.

Have students construct charts, tables, and graphs so that they can better understand how to interpret them on the test. The newspaper can be an excellent source of “data” for developing charts, tables, and graphs.

Most of the teaching and learning strategies presented in Chapter 4 of this handbook can be used in correctional settings. Again, be sure the strategies you choose are in compliance with guidelines of the specific institution where your classes are held. While GED teachers in the Department of Corrections education programs face special challenges, there are many ways that students can work to increase critical thinking skills as well as improve their academic skills. As with all GED teachers, the answer lies in combining knowledge and creativity to develop activities that will spark student interest and lead to success on the GED Tests.