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ERIC Number: ED510400
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Apr-12
Pages: 87
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Roads to Success: Estimated Impacts of an Education and Career Planning Program during Middle School. Final Report
Chaplin, Duncan; Bleeker, Martha; Booker, Kevin
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Roads to Success (RTS) is a school and career planning program designed to be implemented for 45 minutes per week in grades 7 through 12. Researchers at Mathematica Policy Research used a random assignment design to estimate the impacts of receiving RTS in grades 7 and 8. More than half of the students in these schools were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches and the schools had few minority students. Using student survey data collected from more than 1,400 students, we found no evidence of statistically significant impacts of the RTS program on motivation to go to school to learn job skills or on learning and study habits at the end of grade 8. We did find a statistically significant impact at the 0.10 level suggesting that RTS reduced a composite measure of negative behaviors. However, exploratory analyses of subcomponents of this measure suggested mixed results for student behaviors. We conducted exploratory analyses of additional outcomes and found positive impacts of RTS on talking to school staff about career and school plans, confidence in knowing how to find out about what types of jobs are best, and confidence in knowing what is required to succeed in different careers. However, students in both the treatment and control group reported talking to their parents more than to school staff about most issues regarding school and career planning; more than 90 percent reported agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement that they "will be able to overcome barriers that stand in the way of achieving my career goals." Also, fewer than 10 percent of the treatment and control group students reported career aspirations or expectations that seemed too high; fewer than one percent reported career aspirations that seemed too low. Appended are: (1) Follow-up Student Survey Instrument; (2) Coding Scheme for Reasonably Ambitious and Realistic Career Expectations; (3) Future Outcome Variables; (4) Full Regression Results for Confirmatory Outcomes; and (5) Subgroup Results. (Contains 1 figure, 21 tables and 25 footnotes.)
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. P.O. Box 2393, Princeton, NJ 08543-2393. Tel: 609-799-3535; Fax: 609-799-0005; e-mail: info@mathematica-mpr.com; Web site: http://www.mathematica-mpr.com
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Evaluative; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 12; Grade 7; Grade 8; Grade 9; High Schools; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A