Neild, Ruth Curran,; Boccanfuso, Christopher; Byrnes, Vaughan (2015). Career and Technical Education Research, v40 n1 p28-47. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1132478
Reviewed: September 2017
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.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4-year high school graduation rate |
Dropout Prevention vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample, Class of 2005;
|
N/A |
56.60 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total credits earned at end of year 4 |
Dropout Prevention vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample, Class of 2005;
|
20.73 |
19.90 |
Yes |
|
|
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Asian | 5% | |
| Black | 69% | |
| Other or unknown | 1% | |
| White | 14% |
| Hispanic | 12% |
This study involved three cohorts of public school students in Philadelphia, PA. The cohorts were classified by the year in which they would have completed high school with an on-time graduation: Classes of 2003, 2004, and 2005. The sample was comprised of eighth graders who had applied to and were eligible to enroll in one of five Career and Technical Education high schools in the ninth grade from 1999 through 2001. All included students eventually enrolled in a public school in Philadelphia for the ninth grade.
For the Class of 2005, approximately 70% of the students were black, nearly 60% were female, and approximately 20% had special education status.
The intervention is attendance at one of five Career and Technical Education schools. These schools served students in 9th to 12th grade and provided both traditional and career-related educational coursework, where the career courses focused on preparation for work in designated occupations. Four of these schools focused the career coursework on locally in demand fields, such as auto mechanic and child care, while the fifth focused on agriculture and animal care.
Students starting at a traditional public high school for 9th grade were considered for the comparison group. Although these schools may have had courses that could be classified as career focused, the schools were not career-focused and courses were not designed to prepare students for an occupation.
Details on implementation support are not provided.
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).
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