Accelerating Connections to Employment. Volume I. Final Evaluation Report
Modicamore, Dominic; Lamb, Yvette; Taylor, Jeffrey; Takyi-Laryea, Ama; Karageorge, Kathy; Ferroggiaro, Enzo (2017). ICF International. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED618503
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examining2,064Students, gradePS
Publication
Review Details
Reviewed: January 2021
- Publication (findings for Adult Education)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Earnings in Year 1 |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
New Haven;
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14125.19 |
12578.79 |
No |
-- | |
|
Earnings in Year 1 |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Maryland and Texas;
|
12897.00 |
11601.80 |
Yes |
|
|
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Earnings in Year 1 |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Atlanta;
|
5783.50 |
7154.60 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Employed in Year 1 |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
62.60 |
51.90 |
Yes |
|
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|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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Employed in Year 1 |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Maryland and Texas;
|
82.10 |
69.20 |
Yes |
|
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Holds a vocational, technical,or professional certificate or license |
Adult Education vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
53.50 |
35.40 |
Yes |
|
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Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 71%
Male: 30% -
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Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Texas
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Race Asian 3% Black 71% Native American 1% Other or unknown 9% Pacific Islander 1% White 15% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 11% Not Hispanic or Latino 89%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in nine Workforce Investment Board sites in four states.
Study sample
The initial sample consisted of 2,168 learners. These learners had to possess basic skills, including basic language proficiency, among other eligibility criteria. Minimum and maximum cut scores on skills assessments varied by Workforce Investment Board site. Learner characteristics varied by state. The percentage of learners who were White ranged from 1.5 to 54 percent. The percentage of learners who were Black ranged from 36 to 96 percent. The percentage of learners who were Latino ranged from 1.5 to 40 percent. Between 52 and 92 percent of learners were female, and between 4.6 and 58 percent of learners had less than a high school diploma.
Intervention Group
The Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) program is in part based on Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training model, and incorporates basic skills, occupational skills, and job readiness training. Key features of the ACE model included IET delivered through co-teaching, and co-enrollment with credit courses that allowed learners to earn credentials, career navigation, and support services (including academic and transportation support).
Comparison Group
The comparison group had access to the existing training and services available for workers in each state. Compared with the ACE program, existing services were less likely to offer advanced career services.
Support for implementation
The study does not provide specific information about support for implementation.
Additional Sources
In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.
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Modicamore, D., Lamb, Y., Taylor, J., Takyi-Laryea, A., Karageorge, K., & Ferroggiaro, E. (2017). Accelerating connections to employment. Vol. II. Final evaluation report appendices. ICF. https://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/EconomicDevel/acevolume2.pdf.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).