The author of this discussion paper has worked for more than 25 years with adult learners in Massachusetts. She describes her experiences from 1990-1999 as an instructor in a training program funded on a pay-for-performance basis under a legislative act designed to transition people off public assistance and into full-time employment.

The target audience for the program was primarily single mothers with limited work experience and virtually no marketable job skills. The program involved 30 hours of training per week for a 30-week period, followed by a 90-day job search period.

Funding for the program was provided in three instalments, with the first being paid upon enrolment; the second at job placement; and the final instalment coming after clients retained their jobs for 90 days.

By the time the author left the program, 92 percent of students were being placed in full-time jobs with benefits. With rare exceptions, students were still employed after 90 days.

Programs that are performance-based face unique opportunities and challenges. Pay-for-performance works best when everyone agrees that documenting good work is not nearly as important as doing good work, the author notes. Good performance is not a technical question, but rather, one that is based on values.

The paper was part of the program for The Centre for Literacy Fall Institute 2012, held in Saint John, New Brunswick. The centre supports best practices and informed policy development in LES by building links between research, policy, and practice.