Pre-, post-, and longitudinal evaluation of juvenile justice education

This article describes two stages of the Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program's pre-, post-, and longitudinal evaluation research. Pilot studies were used to explore how to design statewide research of pre- and postassessment scores and community reintegration outcomes. Preliminary findings suggest that higher performing educational programs produce greater educational gains as measured by academic achievement tests, credits earned, and pupil progression rates. The findings also indicate that these programs have more students returning to school and lower recidivism rates. Building on the pilot studies, refinements were made to the research designs to enable more comprehensive statewide evaluation. Current research includes collection of pre- and postassessment scores from official sources on approximately 16,000 juvenile justice youths. In addition, a research design has been developed to examine program effectiveness by measuring community reintegration variables. Multiple data sources, including official and self-reported data on family, school, employment, and subsequent crime involvement, will be used in the longitudinal study.