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Intervention: JOBSTART

Overview

JOBSTART is an alternative education and training program designed to improve the economic prospects of young, disadvantaged high school dropouts by increasing educational attainment and developing occupational skills. The program has four main components: (1) basic academic skills instruction with a focus on GED (General Educational Development) preparation, (2) occupational skills training, (3) training-related support services (such as transportation assistance and childcare), and (4) job placement assistance. Participants receive at least 200 hours of basic education and 500 hours of occupational training.1

Research

One study of JOBSTART met What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. This randomized controlled trial included more than 2,300 youth and was conducted in 13 sites in nine states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Based on this one study, the WWC considers the extent of evidence for JOBSTART to be small for completing school (see the What Works Clearinghouse Extent of Evidence Categorization Scheme (31 KB)). The one JOBSTART study that met WWC evidence standards did not examine the effectiveness of JOBSTART in the domains of staying or progressing in school.2

Effectiveness

JOBSTART was found to have potentially positive effects on completing school.

  Staying in school Progressing in school Completing school
Rating of effectiveness na na Potentially positive effects
Improvement index3 na na Average: +14 percentile points
na = not applicable
1 The WWC dropout prevention review includes interventions designed to encourage students who drop out to return to school and earn a high school diploma or GED certificate, as well as interventions designed to prevent initially enrolled students from dropping out. For more details, see the WWC dropout prevention review protocol.
2 The evidence in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
3 These numbers show the average improvement indices for all findings across the study.