Development of a Model Evaluation Instrument for Correctional Education Programming: Summary of Findings

• NCJ Number: 171622
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 63 pages
• Grant Number(s): 94-IJ-CX-0060
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)

Annotation

As a first step in a national evaluation of the effectiveness of correctional education programming in the rehabilitation of inmates, this report presents the results of efforts to develop the draft evaluation instrument.

Abstract

Under the draft evaluation instrument, every inmate will be surveyed upon entry into the system. This survey will include questions on marital status, age, race, gender, employment history, family history, religion, military service, education both prior to incarceration and for those who have been incarcerated previously, and education while in prison. Every inmate will also be surveyed upon exiting the system. The exit survey will be similar to the intake survey, except it will include questions on educational programming received during the inmate's current incarceration and his/her attitude toward the education. Two percent of the exiting surveys will be verified against inmate records to provide a check against the self-report data of these surveys. Also, 2 percent of the exiting surveys will be included in case studies to provide further verification and additional insight into the post-release educational and employment experiences of the inmate. This design allows for the capture of the attributes and attitudes of the universe of the incarcerated population, including those of every recidivist. The surveys will permit the examination and analysis of a number of different cohorts, including recidivists and seven different categories of educational programming involvement. The exit and intake surveys will provide the answers to such important questions as how much education and what types of education an inmate must receive in order for the education to prove effective; the information gleaned from case studies will add an element of insight into offenders' experience that is not currently available to correctional administrators. This report includes a summary of the project findings, the Final Activities Report, and a research monograph. Intake and exit survey questionnaires are included.