This report discusses a nationwide study of Adult Performance Level (APL) which involved sixteen projects in seven states and was conducted to (1) examine the University of Texas at Austin's APL study and describe the results and recommendations in terms of the adult needs in New York State; (2) examine several New York State Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs and to describe the intra-state variations; (3) examine selected APL materials and guidelines developed in other states to identify those aspects that should be considered as potential paths for New York State to pursue; and (4) design a set of models for incorporating an APL emphasis into existing New York State ABE programs. The body of this report is organized into the following five sections: (1) discussion of the generic background including a critical description of the APL study; (2) description and comparison of those curricula that reflect the findings of the APL study; (3) discussion which focuses on the integration of APL-type and ABE activities and emphasizes emerging credentially efforts; (4) presentation of an overview of staff development efforts; and (5) description of the more feasible of the alternatives that exist for the New York State Education Department when making policy decisions regarding future directions in adult literacy programs. The appendix comprises one-half of this report and includes site visit reports of the sixteen projects. (EM)