BECAUSE THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ONLY 15 MONTHS AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE EARNED TIME LAW (JULY 1, 1976), THE EVALUATION IS LIMITED TO THE DOCUMENTATION PROCESSES. BY THEIR SIGNATURES, INMATES AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN CLEARLY DEFINED PROGRAMS OF ACTIVITIES WHICH ARE BASED ON THEIR ASSESSED NEEDS AND PERSONAL OBJECTIVES. PERFORMANCE CRITERIA ARE SPECIFIED SO THAT INMATES KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY MUST DO IN ORDER TO COMPLETE A WORK DETAIL OR AN ACADEMIC OR VOCATIONAL PROGRAM. THE CRITERIA EMPHASIZE CONVENTIONAL BEHAVIORS READILY TRANSFERABLE TO FREE SOCIETY, SUCH AS PUNCTUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY. INMATES WITH FEWER THAN THREE FELONY CONVICTIONS EARN 2 DAYS OFF THEIR CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION TIME FOR EACH DAY SERVED, AND INMATES WITH MORE CONVICTIONS EARN 1 DAY OFF. FURTHERMORE, FACILITY PRIVILEGES MAY BE EARNED FOR HIGH LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE. OF THE 11,697 INMATES IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, 40 PERCENT PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM. ETS PROGRAM DOCUMENTS FOR A RANDOM SAMPLE OF NOT LESS THAN 10 PERCENT OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN EACH OF 14 FACILITIES WERE EXAMINED FOR COMPLETENESS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE PROGRAM IS BEING IMPLEMENTED, BUT THAT THE COUNSELOR-INMATE RATIO AND STAFF ATTITUDES AFFECT THE RESULTS. AS THE COUNSELOR-INMATE RATIO INCREASES, THE COMPLETENESS OF THE FILES DECREASES; PART OF THE UPPER MANAGEMENT DID NOT SUPPORT THE ETS CONCEPT. RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED (1) CONSIDERING A UNIFIED EARNED TIME PLAN WHICH IGNORES THE NUMBER OF CONVICTIONS, (2) ALLOWING MORE TIME FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE PLANS, (3) DEVELOPING FURTHER THE OBJECTIVITY OF THE PERFORMANCE CRITERIA AND PAROLE CRITERIA. TABLES, A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF 34 CITATIONS, AND APPENDIXES CONTAINING AN ETS EVALUATION DESIGN, SUPPORTING DATA, AND EVALUATION CODING INSTRUMENTS ARE INCLUDED. (RJJ)