Assembly member Carol Liu, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Adult Education, requested that the California Research Bureau prepare a report on adult education. The legislative request specified that the following topics be covered: (1) a definition of adult education; (2) recent information on student enrollment, funding sources and structure, and student assessment; and (3) current issues facing the adult education system including: an assessment of the need for adult education programs, the inequities among services providers, lack of counseling, and funding challenges. This report addresses each of these items. The following are appended: (1) Other Demographic Data; (2) CASAS Skill Level Descriptors for ESL; (3) CASAS Skill Level Descriptors for ABE; (4) A Comparison of CASAS and National Reporting System; (5) S 53412. Minimum Qualifications for Instructors of Noncredit Courses; (6) California Commission on Teacher Credentialing--Adult Education Credentials; (7) Community College Funding; and (8) Adult School Funding. (Contains 6 figures, 21 charts, 19 tables, and 214 endnotes.)