Refers to a range of adult education and literacy programs including Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Family Literacy, Skills Development, Workforce Development, and other programs which assist undereducated and/or disadvantaged adults to function effectively. Adult education programs typically focus on numeracy, literacy, high school equivalency, digital literacy, workplace readiness training, and wraparound services. Programs are often set up to help adults with particular needs; e.g., workforce readiness to get a new job, learning how to use a computer, or learning to speak English.

There are an estimated 44 million adults with low basic skills in the U.S.; federally funded adult education assists about 1.5 million annually to earn a high school equivalency, increase basic and employability skills, or improve their English language proficiency (Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act).

A fast-growing sector of adult education is English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), also referred to as English as a second language (ESL) or English language learners (ELL). These courses assist immigrants in acquiring English language skills and acclimating to the culture of English-speaking countries like the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.