Glenn has a good point on how long ABE student stay in the program.  And
my question is ;how long does it take to teach an adult in Orten
-Gillingham method??  Sure it may work if the adult stays in the program
three to five years.  I think if adult learner can  set shorter term
goals, we might have more successes in ABE  program.  

For instance, I am tutoring a 20 year old printer worker.  She wants to
learn how to write telephone messages.  This is a goal we can reach in a
month or two.  When we do this, we will go onto another short term goal. 
This goal can encompass phonics, pronunciation, spelling, verbs, etc.

An ABE student who states as his goal : "Get my GED " is being
unrealistic as to what they can learn in a short period of time.


  Rae Connors