With expiration of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) impending, the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed four types of adult-oriented service: classroom training, on-the-job training, work experience, and public service employment. The GAO researched and synthesized program administrative data and the results of evaluation and research studies, and analyzed employment statistics to determine who enrolled in the programs, what types of services and what benefits were provided them, what were the employment experiences of the enrollees both before and after participating in CETA, and how effective the services were. GAO found the following four outcomes, among others: (1) CETA adult-oriented services were well targeted--the enrollees were generally disadvantaged economically and educationally, which affected their employment stability; (2) outcomes differed for the four services, but these differences were expected since occupational areas and characteristics of participants also varied; (3) on the average, early participants were better off after CETA than before in terms of increased employment and earnings and reduced reliance on public benefits; and (4) because of limited data, CETA's effectiveness can be addressed only in terms of earnings. No more than a small proportion of the improvement in earnings can be attributed directly to CETA, but women and individuals appear to have profited more than other groups as a result of the program. (KC)