BY THE TIME A PERSON HAS PROGRESSED THROUGH THE ENTIRE APL (ADULT PERFORMANCE LEVEL) COMPETENCY BOARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA PROGRAM, HE WILL HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT HE IS FUNCTIONALLY LITERATE BY SCORING AS AN APL 3 ON THE APL COMPETENCY TEST OR PASSING THE MASTERY TEST (S), THAT HE POSSESSES THE ABILITY TO OPERATE AS A MEMBER OF SOCIETY BY VIRTUE OF HAVING COMPLETED SATISFACTORILY THE GENERALIZED LIFE SKILLS PORTION OF THE PROGRAM, AND THAT HE HAS A MARKETABLE SKILL IF HE HAS PASSED THROUGH OCCUPATIONAL-VOCATIONAL SEQUENCES OF THE INDIVIDUALIZED COMPETENCY PORTION OF THE PROGRAM OR THAT HE HAS THE ABILITY TO FUNCTION ADEQUATELY IN A POST-SECONDARY SETTING IF HE HAS PASSED THROUGH THE ADVANCED SPECIALIZED SEQUENCE OF THE PROGRAM. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE APL COMPETENCY BASED HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA PROGRAM IS THAT IT RECOGNIZES THAT A LEARNING PROGRAM FOR ADULTS MUST BE MEANINGFUL AND RELEVANT TO THEM AND MUST MAKE THEM BETTER ABLE TO CARE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES. FURTHERMORE, IT IS IMPORTANT IN THE COMMUNITY-AT-LARGE THAT THE ADULT BE ABLE TO PROCEED THROUGH AN ACCREDITED PROGRAM WHEREBY HE CAN BOTH GAIN AND DEMONSTRATE HIS SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE SINCE THIS OFTEN CREATES A POSITIVE ATTITUDE WHICH CAN PERMEATE A PERSON'S ENTIRE OUTLOOK ON LIFE, HOW HE RELATES TO OTHER PERSONS AND HOW HE FUNCTIONS IN GENERAL WITHIN HIS ENVIRONMENT. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)...PLO