Research

The WWC reviewed seven studies of the effectiveness of Talent Search. Three of these studies were included within one research report (Constantine, Seftor, Martin, Silva, & Myers, 2006). Among the three studies in this report, those conducted in Texas and Florida met WWC evidence standards with reservations. The third study included in the Constantine et al. (2006) study—conducted with data from Indiana—did not assess outcomes from any of the three relevant domains for dropout prevention (staying in school, progressing in school, and completing school). The remaining four Talent Search studies did not meet WWC evidence screens.

The Texas study involved 10 Talent Search projects (each serving 10-20 high schools) and 4,027 participants, who were matched to 30,842 nonparticipants from the same high schools based on propensity scoring methods that matched students on 18 demographic, socioeconomic, and academic characteristics. The Florida study involved five Talent Search projects (each serving 10-20 high schools) and 900 participants, who were matched to 42,514 nonparticipants from the same high schools using propensity scoring methods that matched students on 13 demographic, socioeconomic, and academic characteristics. ⁴ For both the Texas and Florida samples, statistical tests found that treatment and comparison group samples were not statistically different at the 0.05 level on any of the demographic or academic measures used in the matching procedures. In both states, the study focused on participants who were ninth graders in the fall of the 1995-96 school year.