A need for remediation has been increasingly apparent within vocational education and job-related skill training. The current debates about basic skills and literacy reveal ambiguities in the definition of the problem and the focus of the concern. Telephone questionnaires and program visits provided information about remedial offerings within vocational education, Job Training Partnership Act programs, and welfare-to-work programs in 23 regions located in 9 states. Results show the type of remediation provided, the existing coordination, and the lack of information in the existing system. An assessment of the effectiveness of current remedial efforts indicates that an extensive literature describes good practice in adult education and remediation based largely on experience, but that there are few outcome evaluations of remedial programs, and many are based on inappropriate research designs. The dominant approach of "skills and drills" has proved to violate most conventions of good practice in adult education, and there is evidence that the pedagogical methods of most remedial programs are inappropriate. Alternatives to skills and drills are a "meaning-making" approach, "eclectic" approaches, functional context literacy training, and other programs that integrate remediation with job skills training. Issues with implications for future policy are effectiveness, appropriate pedagogy, and purpose of remediation. (Appendixes include 146 references, a 36-item bibliography, and the interview protocol.) (YLB)