Most of the authors in this issue of "Future of Children" focus on a single strategy for helping both adults and children that could become a component of two-generation programs. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, on the other hand, look at actual programs with an explicit two-generation focus that have been tried in the…

In December 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave MDRC a grant to conduct reconnaissance on promising strategies to reengage disconnected young people and improve their long-term outcomes. The primary objective of the grant was to identify key leverage points for future investment by government and foundations. MDRC consulted with…

The "National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program" is a residential education and training program designed for youth ages 16 to 18 who have dropped out of or been expelled from high school. During the 22-week residential period, participants are offered GED preparation classes and other program services intended to promote positive youth…

The study examined whether participating in the "National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program", a quasi-military residential/mentoring program for dropouts, improved the educational and other outcomes of at-risk youth. The study analyzed data on about 1,000 16- to 18-year-old high school dropouts enrolled in 10 ChalleNGe programs throughout…

"YouthBuild" offers low-income youth both education and job training services. "YouthBuild's" education component emphasizes attaining a GED or high school diploma, typically in alternative schools with small class sizes and an emphasis on individualized instruction. In "YouthBuild's" job-training program,…

This study evaluated an innovative family literacy program in Bullitt County, KY, USA. Data sources included attendance sign-in sheets, pre- and post TABE test scores, GED success, gender, age, and ethnicity, and grant applications. The evidence suggested that since 1998, the program increasingly attracted proportionally more males, GED completion…

"Middle College High Schools" are alternative high schools located on college campuses that aim to help at-risk students complete high school and encourage them to attend college. The schools offer a project-centered, interdisciplinary curriculum, with an emphasis on team teaching, individualized attention, and development of critical…

Employment Plus is an intervention program offered by the Chesapeake Public School Division (Virginia) that targets high school students who are at risk of educational failure. The program is provided by the Department of Vocational Education and is offered in all high schools. Employment Plus offers an alternative to the traditional high school…

This report describes the structure, format, and processes of Iowa's General Educational Development (GED) test center structure and presents the results, conclusions, and recommendations from an evaluation of that structure. The major purposes of the evaluation were to assess the effectiveness of Iowa's new statewide GED structure, determine…

This study used the cohort method to determine the status of students who participated in the high school Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (AIDP) Program in 1985-86, one year later as of June 30, 1987. Among the findings are the following: (1) 41.3 percent had dropped out of school; (2) 7.2 percent had graduated or passed a General…

A Morehead State University project field tested the feasibility and utility of a comprehensive vocational training program, the Employability Skills Series of the Adkin Life Skills Program. The study involved nine adult program sites at these levels: adult education/GED (General Education Development training) students, post-GED CETA…

Even Start is a national program of early childhood and adult education to improve family literacy. This document is a series of four appendices which accompany the National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, a 4-year effort to assess projects, participants, and effects of Even Start. Appendix A provides in-depth description of…

The Even Start program was implemented to improve the educational opportunities of U.S. children and adults by integrating community early childhood education and adult education for parents into a unified family literacy initiative. This document is the final project report of the National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, a…

The Even Start program was authorized by Congress in 1988 to provide early childhood, adult, and parenting education to participating families in a family literacy initiative. This document provides an executive summary of the National Evaluation of Even Start, which assessed services, participants and effectiveness. The summary highlights topics…