Am I eligible?
The mission of Adult Basic Education (ABE) in Minnesota is to provide adults with educational opportunities to acquire and improve their literacy skills necessary to be self-sufficient and to participate effectively as productive workers, family members, and citizens.
To be eligible for ABE, an individual must be all of the following:
- 17 years of age or over
- Not enrolled in secondary school
- Functioning below the 12th grade level in any of the basic academic areas including reading, math, writing, and speaking English.
Where, when, and how?
All classes and study materials are no cost to students. You can study with any of our instructors, at any of our class locations. We also offer online learning options. Check out our class sites in:
You can also register to take your GED at our office in Rush City or take our English as a Second Language classes (scroll down to Class Schedules --> Online Classes).
What can I study?
We offer instruction in several areas — join us to study:
- Adult Diploma: Programs for eligible adults leading to a high school diploma from a sponsoring Minnesota school district.
- Basic Skills Enhancement: For learners who need goal-specific elementary or secondary level basic skills such as work-related math, functional literacy (e.g.- banking skills), reading or writing assistance. Generally considered "brush-up" and not leading to a diploma or GED.
- GED/ABE Classes: The General Educational Development (GED) diploma is a national high school equivalency program that includes 4 content areas: reasoning through language arts, mathematical reasoning, science, and social studies.
- Citizenship Education: Programs which prepare Minnesota non-citizens for the U.S. citizenship exam given by the INS. Includes application preparation and English language instruction. Also may include content related to general civic content and participation in society.
- ESL: English as a Second Language. For learner's whose native language was not English.