A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

National Evaluation of The Even Start Family Literacy Program, 1998

Chapter 6

What Were the Patterns of Retention?

In 1996-97, of the 31,121 families for whom the projects provided year-end status, 56 percent were continuing to participate at year-end, while 44 percent had left the program during the year. Part of the 44 percent represented families who left the program having completed their educational goals.⁸⁸ An adjusted continuation retention rate, excluding families that completed goals, was 60 percent (64 percent for new families and 54 percent for families continuing from previous years); the rate of termination for reasons other than program completion was 40 percent.

Since 1994-95, the breakdown of families that were participating at year-end versus those who left the program has been roughly 60/40 percent. However, each year, we observed that some families that were reported to be continuing at year-end did not actually participate in the program in the following year. Exhibit 6.11 presents all available data from both the first and the second evaluations that shed light on the retention patterns across program years for various participant groups.

The cross-year retention rates were 47 percent for new families who enrolled in 1989-90, 73 percent for new families who enrolled in 1990-91, and 41 percent for new families who enrolled in 1995-96. We need to keep in mind that currently available data only allow limited analyses of retention patterns. The participant groups presented in Exhibit 6.11 are quite different in terms of composition (only new versus new and continuing families), number and age of projects represented, and the legislative and programmatic contexts in which the projects operated. Data collected in the third national evaluation will allow much more in-depth analyses of Even Start participation patterns.

Families That Were Continuing Participation at Year-end

Excluding the participants who left after completing the program, we examined continuation rates of 1996-97 new enrollee families by parent age and education level at program intake. Teen parents and parents in their twenties were less likely to be continuing at year-end (59 percent and 62 percent, respectively) than were parents who were age 30 or older (69 percent and higher, not shown in exhibit). Families in which parents had either 6th-grade or less education or high school diploma or higher were more likely to continue in Even Start (72 percent and 69 percent, respectively) than families with mid-level parental education (61 percent). New families that received many types of support services were more likely to continue (70 percent) than new families that received little or no support services (59 percent).

Families That Completed Their Educational Goals and Left the Program

Overall, the rates of program completion were 9 percent for families that continued participation from previous years and 5 percent for 1996-97 new enrollees. A regression analysis indicated that none of the factors entered in the analysis could explain much (3 percent) about differences in the completion rates.⁸⁹ However, comparisons among various participant groups revealed that completion rates varied by parent age and educational level (Exhibit 6.12).

Among families that continued from previous years (who were more likely to complete their goals than new enrollees), teen parents who enrolled with a high school diploma, GED, or some postsecondary education had the highest completion rate (33 percent) although this group consisted of only twenty-one parents. They were followed by continuing teens who enrolled at the 10th- to 12th-grade level (18 percent).

Parents who were native English speakers were three times more likely to complete the program during 1996-97 than were parents with limited English proficiency (9 percent versus 3 percent, not shown in exhibit). However, even among families with limited English proficiency, parents who had entered Even Start with at least a 10th-grade education and continued participation from previous years had completion rates of 10 percent to 12 percent.

Families That Exited the Program

Of all the 1996-97 participating families, 7 percent left the program after completing their planned educational goals (see Exhibit 6.13 for termination reasons broken out by new and continuing families). Another 6 percent exited the program because parents had found employment that conflicted with continued participation; 16 percent left because of various problems (e.g., poor attendance; family problems and crises preventing participation; and lack of interest).

In addition, 7 percent of families participating in 1996-97 left Even Start for reasons other than the eight listed in Exhibit 6.13. (The additional reasons are listed in Appendix B, Exhibit B.11.) Throughout this four-year evaluation, frequently cited additional reasons for families leaving the program have included health problems; maternity leave or the arrival of a new infant; lack of transportation; homelessness; and termination or reduction of Even Start services due to insufficient resources. Impacts of welfare reform legislation, first reported by projects in the 1995-96 evaluation as reasons for some families' termination, were also specifically cited in 1996-97.

Among families continuing from previous year(s) but terminated during 1996-97, parents' educational backgrounds and ages were associated with lack of motivation or poor attendance. Families with parents at the highest and lowest educational levels were less likely to exit because of low motivation and attendance than parents with intermediate levels of education (Exhibit 6.14).

Finally, as parents' age increased, exits from Even Start due to low motivation and attendance declined (Exhibit 6.14). Although families with teen parents had higher rates of participation in all core services and more hours of adult education than families with older parents, by the year's end the former were more likely to leave the program because of low motivation.

Footnotes:

⁸⁸ Even Start has no standard criteria for "goal completion." The specific goals for each family are likely to reflect the educational needs and capacities of participants and the educational curriculum offered by the project. Accordingly, the determination of goal completion is also likely to be specific to each family.

⁸⁹ This analysis used all the independent variables listed in Exhibit 6.1.

-###-

[ What Aspects of Even Start Services Are Related to Participation Rates? ]

[ To What Extent Did the Very Needy Families Participate in Even Start Services? ]