U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF THE YOUTH AUTHORITY COMPENSATORY EDUCATION 1977-1978 - PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION

NCJ Number
62676
Author(s)
A S BAL; J MAHON
Date Published
1978
Length
101 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT EVALUATES AND PRESENTS PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS OF COMPENSATORY EDUCATION PROJECTS AT 10 INSTITUTIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA YOUTH AUTHORITY FOR THE PROGRAM YEAR 1977-78.
Abstract
A TOTAL OF $1,448,480 WAS BUDGETED TO CARRY OUT ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT (ESEA) TITLE 1 PROGRAMS DURING THE PROGRAM YEAR. THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE READING, LANGUAGE, MATH, MULTICULTURAL AND CAREER AWARENESS COMPONENTS WAS 970, 718, 1050, AND 217 RESPECTIVELY. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE NON-HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES AND UNDER 21 YEARS OF AGE. THEY SHARED SIMILAR DEMOGRAPHIC AND DELINQUENT/CRIMINAL CHARACTERISTICS WITH THE YOUTH AUTHORITY'S OVERALL WARD POPULATION. THE SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION VARIED FROM INSTITUTION TO INSTITUTION. ALL INSTITUTIONS DELIVERED MORE THAN 15 HOURS PER WEEK OF INSTRUCTION. MATCHED PRE-POST RESULTS OF 966 STUDENTS SHOWED THAT IN READING, THE GRADE LEVEL GROWTH RATE PER MONTH WAS .14. THE OVERALL AVERAGE GAIN PER MONTH SCORES FOR BOTH READING COMPREHENSION AND MATH FUNDAMENTALS WAS SIMILAR FOR ALL ETHNIC GROUPS WHEN PRETEST SCORES AND DURATION OF PROGRAM PARTICIPATION WERE HELD CONSTANT. ALTHOUGH THE AVERAGE GROWTH RATES SHOWED A GENERAL TREND IN FAVOR OF THE WHITE STUDENTS RELATIVE TO THE THREE PRETEST RANGES, THREE-FOURTHS OF THE WHITE STUDENTS ACHIEVED THE LOWEST GROWTH RATES FOR BOTH READING AND MATH, WHILE ONLY 50 PERCENT OF THE BLACK STUDENTS WERE IN THIS LOWEST CATEGORY. AVERAGES FOR ACHIEVEMENT GAINS RANGED BETWEEN SATISFACTORY AND EXCELLENT. THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE PROGRAM HELPED THE STUDENTS ACHIEVE ACADEMIC GROWTH UNPRECEDENTED IN THEIR EARLIER PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE PROGRAM INCLUDE CLEARLY STATING DESIRED PERFORMANCE EXPECTANCIES FOR STUDENTS; PROVIDING FOR APPROPRIATE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES; UTILIZING APPROPRIATE EVALUATIVE MEASURES; AND COLLECTING THE EVALUATION DATA IN THE MOST JUDICIOUS MANNER. TABULAR DATA, A LIST OF REFERENCES, AND APPENDIXES CONTAINING FORMS USED IN THE PROGRAM ARE INCLUDED. (MJW)