Study of the Career Intern Program. Final Report--Task B: Assessment of Intern Outcomes.

A study assessed the impact of the Career Intern Program (CIP) on participating students. (The CIP is an alternative high school designed to enable disadvantaged and alienated dropouts or potential dropouts to earn regular high school diplomas, to prepare them for meaningful employment or postsecondary education, and to facilitate their transition from school to work by providing instruction, counseling, hands on career exposure, diagnosis/assessment, and climate.) To evaluate student outcomes, standardized reading and mathematics achievement tests were administered to both an experimental and a control group on four occasions (upon entering the program, six and twelve months thereafter, and six to twelve months after completing the program). The declining number of students in the test samples (1680 students tested initially, 786 students tested midway into the program, and 500 tested at its conclusion) reflected the program's high attrition rates. Despite the high attrition rate (which may be explained, at least in part, by a number of operational problems involving tight scheduling, funding, and unrealistic enrollment quotas), achievement test results support the success of CIP. (Related reports evaluating other aspects of CIP are available separately through ERIC--see note.) (MN)