King County Youth Facility

King County Youth Services
Seattle, Washington

Scope of Work

Case study conducted by King County Youth Services, a pilot project with Reading Horizons software

Tool

Pre- and post-tests provided with the Reading Horizons courseware

Time Frame

Eight-month study conducted between November 1997-June 1998

Data

Student	Pre-test	Post-test	Increase	Time
1	4.0	7.4	3.4	8 weeks
2	1.6	3.8	2.2	2 weeks
3	2.6	5.1	2.5	6 weeks
4	7.8	8.6	0.8	2 weeks
5	4.0	7.7	3.7	4 weeks
6	1.0	2.0	1.0	6 weeks
7	1.0	1.3	0.3	4 weeks
8	7.4	8.8	1.4	9 weeks
9	0.4	0.7	0.3	6 weeks
10	4.8	6.9	2.1	8 weeks
11	5.5	7.0	1.5	2 weeks
12	2.6	5.3	2.7	6 weeks
13	5.5	6.5	1.0	4 weeks
Average	3.7	5.5	1.8	5.2

*Not all students had completed coursework when pilot results were submitted.

Demographics

White	47.77%
African American	34.81%
Asian	8.08%
Hispanic	4.73%
Native American	2.90%
Pacific Islander or Other	1.71%

Important Statistics

Repeat offenders: 75%
Cost of incarceration: $144-$180 per day
Estimated low-income families: 75%-80%
95% of repeat offenders attend school only when incarcerated.

Evaluator's Observations

The evaluator expressed outcomes as "phenomenal results" and said that every participant completing the program increased three or four grade levels. Most students finished the basic phonics software program in about six weeks to two months. It was reported that, by contrast, traditional methods such as intensive one-on-one tutoring rarely improved students’ reading skills more than one grade level every three months. The evaluator expressed the observation that what makes the project even more important is that learning to read becomes a powerful motivator for students who have given up hope of a better future.