Impact Evaluation of "12 for Life": Better Lives through Education and Employment
Dowell, Kathleen; Stevenson, Olivia (2018). Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED584161
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examining400Students, grades10-12
Department-funded evaluation
Review Details
Reviewed: December 2021
- Department-funded evaluation (findings for 12 for Life)
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
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
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
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High school grade point average (GPA) |
12 for Life vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
No |
-- |
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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Rural, Suburban
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Georgia
Study Details
Setting
The study was implemented at rural and suburban high schools in the Carroll County and Haralson County school districts, Georgia. Students in the intervention group had daily access to learning activities in the 12 for Life manufacturing facility. All treatment students were enrolled in Carroll County schools and comparison students were enrolled in both Carrol and Haralson County schools. Carroll County Schools has a history of low graduation rates (67.5%), high dropout rates (4.8%), and a high percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged (61%).
Study sample
All students served were economically disadvantaged, according to a researcher-developed rubric defining financial need. 50% of the high school students in the sample were supporting themselves, responsible for costs of food and shelter with little or no support from parents or guardians.
Intervention Group
The i3-funded intervention, 12 for Life, was developed in conjunction with Carroll County School District as a new approach to applied, work-based learning. The 12 for Life program is designed to provide very high-need students with a unique opportunity to hold paid apprenticeships while continuing their education, featuring both a STEM-focused secondary school program and a student-staffed Southwire satellite plant. 12 for Life’s classes and apprenticeships feature low teacher-student (1:10) and supervisor-student (1:12) ratios. The 12 for Life program aims to improve students’ academic performance, behavior, and retention.
Comparison Group
Comparison group students received business as usual academic instruction and student support services provided by the high schools they attended. Students were likely exposed to instruction and support services as they had been in the past.
Support for implementation
Teachers in the 12 for Life intervention received several elements of support, including access to professional development, professional learning communities, STEM conferences, on-site and online trainings, and access to an engineering maintenance program for classroom technology. Teachers also received curriculum and replication guides and access to a STEM curriculum development specialist.
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).