THE RECIDIVISM OUTCOME INDEX CONSISTS OF EIGHT CATEGORIES, RANGING FROM NO ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF ANY KIND, TO CONVICTION OF AN OFFENSE FOR WHICH A SENTENCE OF 2 YEARS OR LONGER HAS BEEN IMPOSED. THE INDEX MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO ASSESS THE SERIOUSNESS OF RECIDIVISM AND THUS THE EXTENT TO WHICH OFFENDERS HAVE BEEN REHABILITATED. A 2-YEAR FOLLOWUP STUDY OF ONTARIO EX-OFFENDERS REVEALS THAT RECIDIVISM IS LOWER THAN MIGHT BE EXPECTED. OVER 60 PERCENT OF THE SAMPLE WERE NOT REIMPRISONED DURING THE FOLLOWUP PERIOD. ONLY 6.7 PERCENT RECEIVED PENITENTIARY SENTENCES. THE FINDINGS, WHICH COMPARE FAVORABLY WITH RECIDIVISM RATES AMONG JUVENILES AND ADULTS IN THE UNITED STATES, CHALLENGE THE NOTION THAT CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE SCHOOLS FOR CRIME. A ROUGH COMPARISON WITH FINDINGS FROM AN EARLIER STUDY OF RECIDIVISM IN ONTARIO INDICATES THAT RECIDIVISM HAS NOT INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, EVEN THOUGH THE NUMBER OF OFFENSES AND CONVICTIONS IN CANADA HAS INCREASED. PROBLEMS IN MEASURING CRIME AND RECIDIVISM, THE UTILITY OF EXISTING INDICES OF CRIME AND RECIDIVISM, AND THE LIMITATIONS OF THE CANADIAN MEASURE ARE DISCUSSED. SUPPORTING DATA AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)