TABLE 3.-Median grade equivalents in reading at entry into job Corps

TABLE 4.-Median grade equivalents in arithmetic at entry into Job Corps

Examination of the entry scores in Tables 3 & 4 indicate that the Corpsman Gains Sample is representative of the Job Corps population as a whole. The slight differences which exist are probably due to shifts in the enrollee population over time and differential termination rates for Corpsmembers entering with different academic skills.

EDUCATIONAL GAINS IN JOB CORPS

Educational Gains in Job Corps are described in three ways: the percent of sample who showed some improvement, the actual change in grade equivalent score for the average Corpsmember (the 50th percentile) from October to January and the adjusted rate of progress for the average Corpsmember.

The procedure for determining the adjusted rate of progress and rate of performance prior to Job Corps are explained in the appendix.

In the following discussion rate of progress or rate of achievement in Job Corps refers to the adjusted rate of progress.

The Total Sample (See Figures 1 & 2)

About 63% of the Corpsman Gains Sample make some progress in reading. The rate of learning in reading for the average Corpsmember is one and a fourth times the school norm. For the population with which Job Corps deals, this is approximately a 250% improvement over their estimated performance prior to Job Corps.

In mathematics, gains are greater than in reading. The average Corpsmember achieves one and three-fourths times as quickly as the typical school student This means that a Corpsmember who stays eleven months on Center would complete about two grade levels. His learning rate is almost 400% better than his estimated rate prior to Job Corps.

A Comparison of Gain Rates Among Center Groups

Paragraph Meaning Of the three center groups, Conservation, Women's Urban, and Men's Urban, the sample from Men's Urban shows the largest mediar gain in reading. Their achievement rate is nearly twice that of the public school expectancy. It is a 175% improvement over the school norm and a 350% improve ment over their estimated learning rate in school. The Conservation Center sample advances 1.25 times as quickly as the average school student which. though lower than Men's Urban Center sample, is a 250% improvement. The Women's Center sample evidences an educational gain rate which is below the public school norm. They gain about six-tenths as quickly as the public school norm which is about 10% better than their rate in public school. These rates are presented in Figure 1 entitled "Rate of Achievement in Reading".

Arithmetic Computation-About two thirds of the sample from Conservation. Men's and Women's Center show some improvement. The sample from Men's Urban Centers shows the greatest median gain in arithmetic, the Conservation

Center sample shows the next largest and the Women's Centers sample the least gain. The Men's Urban Center sample improves two and a half times faster than the school norm; the Conservation Center one and a half times and the Women's Center sample six-tenths as quickly as the school norm. The rates of achievement in arithmetic are presented in Figure 2.

Possible causes of these rate differences will be discussed in the following sections. Specifically Corpsmembers level at entry, amount of time in program, and whether Corpsmember is presently in program will be considered.

Caution: THE ABOVE RATES ARE INDEPENDENT OF THE SIZE OF UNIT. JOB CORPS RATES ARE BASED ON A FEW MONTHS WHEREAS THE PUBLIC SCHOOL NORMS ON YEARS. BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCE IN UNIT SIZE. CAUTION MUST BE USED IN GENERALIZING FROM THESE RATES. THEY ARE USED HERE FOR DEMONSTRATION ONLY

Comparison of Gains Made By Groups in Job Corps Different Lengths of Time When the sample is grouped according to length of time in Job Corps within the Center type, the reading gains fluctuate considerably for the Urban Men and Women's Centers but remain relatively constant for Conservation Centers. Some slight peaking is seen for all the groups who recently entered Job Corps. This "recovery phenomenon" is not as pronounced as expected. The percent of Conservation Corpsmen showing improvement remains fairly constant for those on Center a year or more, indicating there is more than instant recall taking place. The percent from the Urban Centers showing improvement, however. decreases for those at the center longer periods of time. The percents showing gain are presented in Table 5.

TABLE 5.-Percent showing improvement in reading between October 1966 and January 1967 by amount of time in Job Corps

In arithmetic, gains are also grossly related to the length of time Corpsmembers have been at the center. As in reading, there is a slight peaking for those who recently entered the arithmetic program and a tailing off for Urban Corpsmembers in Job Corps a year or more. Part of the early peaking is a result of Corpsman's recovery of skills forgotten when not used. For those Urban Corpsmembers who have been on center more than ten months, the percent showing improvement decreases. This tailing off in arithmetic and in reading is probably a consequence of Corpsmen completing available academic programs. Percents from center subgroups showing improvement in arithmetic are presented in Table 6.

TABLE 6.-Percent showing improvement in arithmetic computation between October 1966 and January 1967 by amount of time in Job Corps

A Comparison of Job Corps Programs Within the Center Types Dividing the sample into three grade equivalent groups which are roughly equivalent to the Introductory, Elementary and Intermediate Programs, some program strengths and weaknesses are identifiable. Table 7 shows the number of units actually gained between testing periods. A unit is roughly equivalent to one school month or 10 of a school year. These units are unadjusted; they de not take account of forgetting which occurred during the vacation and, therefore. are conservative estimates of the rate of gain. They do, however, illustrate the relationship of gain to the Corpsmembers' achievement level in October.

TABLE 7.-Unadjusted gains1 for center groups (October 1966 to January 1967) by October achievement level (Ñ's in parenthesis)

1 Explanation of codes: Often + or - will follow a median in the table. In lieu of computing exact medians, this indicator is used for approximation purposes due to the imprecise nature of the data. A + means greater than. For example, 3+ means the median is between 3 and 3.5 months. 4- on the other hand represents a gain between 3.5 and 4 months.

The Introductory Program-The greatest gain is made by Corpsmembers scoring between 1.0 and 2.9 grade equivalents on the S.A.T. The very large gains made by Men's and Women's Urban Centers are suspect. The small number of Corpsmembers from Urban Centers in this lower group may very well have been mistested; their October scores, therefore, would not be an accurate measure of their skill and consequently their gains are spurious. The suspicion about their scores is reinforced when one considers that very low achievers are not normally assigned to Urban Centers. Because the gains are suspect in Urban Centers, a definite conclusion about these programs can not be drawn. These gains may reflect program strength since other anecdotal reports from Centers indicate that the Introductory Programs are highly successful.

The gains made by the Conservation Center sample in the first to third grade level are more acceptable since the N's are more substantial. Of 121 persons, 81% showed improvement in arithmetic and of 255 Corpsmen, 78% showed improvement in reading. The achievement rate in reading is three times as fast as the average school student and in arithmetic about twice as fast. A separate analysis by length of time in center indicates that the greater rate of gain is evidenced by Corpsmen in this group who had been at the center six months or less. This rate was not entirely out of proportion to gains for other groups but does demonstrate a recovery effect. A large percentage, more than 75%, of all the different length of stay groups show improvement.

The Elementary Programs-Those Corpsmembers achieving between third and sixth grades make adequate gains. Gains made by Urban Men in reading and arithmetic are impressive. In both skills the Urban Corpsman gained almost six units for the period under investigation. Corpswomen at this level gained on the average about four units during the period under investigation. The Conservation Centers Corpsmen, on the other hand, show steady but non-exceptional progress.

It is quite possible that the mediocre showing for Conservation Center Corpsmen at this level reflects increased time away from education classes. The fact that the programs in use are adequately designed for the Job Corps population, is demonstrated by the performance of the sample from the best Conservation Centers.

Intermediate Programs-For Corpsmen in this achievement group, the existing reading program appears inadequate. Table 7 shows that the average Corpsman from Conservation Centers lost about five months achievement in the three month period and that the average from an Urban Center made no gain in reading. The poor performance of persons in Intermediate reading program strongly suggests that Corpsmembers are just not being placed in programs after they have attained a level of about 6.0 and are, during the ensuing months, evidencing what one would expect, forgetting.

At present, the reading program, for Conservation Center Corpsmen achieving above sixth grade, is being revised. In addition G.E.D. programs are under development. Whenever possible enrichment materials must be provided at this level. Persons with sixth grade achievement are just beginning to reach a level useful for occupational or recreational pursuits. It should not be assumed that Corpsmen with sixth grade skills do not need continued training.

Analysis of the arithmetic gains data reconfirms the above conclusion. The average Corpswoman and the Corpsman from a Conservation Center showed a loss of about two-tenths of a grade level in two-tenths of a school year. The average Corpsman from an Urban Center, however, showed significant improvement. At least 50% gained four-tenths of a grade level or more. It is apparent that maintenance programs exist (either formal or informal). More than likely this continued gain is a result of Corpsmen using these skills in their vocational programs. The Urban Centers from which these Corpsmen were selected generally have related math programs as part of their vocational courses. Gain Rates for Five of the Best Centers (Table 8)

Since the data are confounded by weak and strong programs, by Corpsmembers not in program and a myriad of other factors the gains of sample of high performance Conservation Centers were analyzed. About 80% of these Corpsmembers, whereas only 66% of the whole sample, showed improvement in reading and arithmetic. These Centers showed a median rate of gain in reading and arithmetic far better than the Job Corps average and roughly two to three times greater than the public school norm. Figures 3 and 4 demonstrate the difference between the best Centers and Job Corps average rates of gain.

The actual grade equivalents gained between the testing periods are presented in Tables 7 and 8. From the Tables it can be seen that the median gain ranges from more than a half year (.64) to four tenths (.4) of a year.

The median achievement levels for the sample in October are also presented in Tables 8 and 9. The median reading score in October ranged between end of second grade and middle of third grade, the level where greatest success was demonstrated by the larger sample from all types of centers.

In arithmetic, the median scores of the sub-sample were also close to that of the larger sample, at about the beginning of fourth grade. Their impressive performance demonstrates the kind of success Corpsmen in the program could make and attests to the potential strength of the program. The implication is clear; some centers are not yet reaching their potential. The group of high performance centers includes both Men's Urban and Conservation Centers, of that group only the best Conservation Centers were discussed here because of similarity of program and performance. The five centers selected for the reading analysis are not always the same as the five selected for mathematics.