Study Details | Pathways to Work

101094-Study of Urban Allia

Study quality:

Moderate

Reason for the rating: This study received a moderate study quality rating because it is a high-attrition randomized controlled trial that establishes that the program and comparison groups are similar at baseline and adjusts impact estimates to account for any minor differences in the groups.

Program: Urban Alliance’s High School Internship Program

Characteristics of study participants:

Young adults (age 16-24)

Services provided:

Case management, Employment coaching, Financial education, Paid work experience/internships, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Soft skills training, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs

Setting: Urban only

Methods and Standards Protocol version used for review: Version 2.0

Learn about our protocol

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

The Urban Alliance's High School Internship Program targeted high school seniors attending specific public and charter schools in underserved communities. Students had to be identified as "at risk" of losing connection to stable career or educational pathways after graduation. Students also were required to have attained a sufficient number of academic credits to qualify for an early release schedule, which allowed them to attend work placements during school afternoons. Students who applied to the program for the 2016-17 program year in Baltimore, Chicago, Northern Virginia, or Washington, DC and for the 2017-18 program year in Washington, DC were randomly assigned to an program or comparison group. The study enrolled 1,435 students, with 981 students assigned to the program group and 454 students assigned to the comparison group.

Time period of study:

Study enrollment occurred for program applicants in the 2016-17 program year in four study sites and the 2017-18 program year in one study site. The study collected data from 2016 through 2020, including survey data collected one and two years after students graduated, UI data, and administrative data on educational outcomes.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term employment

Other outcome domains examined:

Program participation, program attendance, services received, education preparation activities, college attendance and type, college financials, economic hardship, job preparation, savings, economic connection, credit building

Study funded by:

The study was funded by a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation award.

Results

View table definitions

Scroll to the right to view the rest of the table columns

Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Program group mean	Impact	Units	Findings	Sample size
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, annual	Year 2	Moderate	43.40	49.80	5.50	percentage points		899

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Means are not displayed when not reported or not aligned with the impact estimates. For example, if the impact estimate is regression-adjusted but only unadjusted means are reported in the study, the unadjusted means are not displayed as they are not aligned with the adjusted impact estimate.

Impact estimates are not shown when the estimate units cannot be converted to natural units.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the program. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the program, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the program produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

The sample consisted of high school seniors identified as being at risk of losing connection to stable career or educational pathways after graduation and who were attending specific public and charter schools in underserved communities. The majority of participants were Black (77 percent) and female (70 percent).

Age

Mean age	18 years
Young adults (age 16-24)	100%

Sex

Female	70%
Male	30%

Race and ethnicity

Black or African American	77%
White, not Hispanic	1%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	18%
Asian	3%
Unknown, not reported, or other	1%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Family status

Parents

Employment and public benefit status

Public benefits recipients

41%

Program implementation

Implementing organization:

Urban Alliance; local employer sites, including corporate, government, and nonprofit organizations

Program history:

The program was in existence prior to the study. The program's logic model was formalized in 2007. A prior evaluation was conducted on outcomes for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 program year participants.

Program services:

The Urban Alliance High School Internship Program (HSIP) aimed to empower economically disadvantaged high school seniors through four core components; a) skills training, b) paid work-based learning experiences, c) mentoring and wrap-around support, and d) alumni services. Before the start of their internships, students attended prework trainings (three to six weeks) focusing on hard and soft skills. During the internships, the focus of the trainings shifted to life skills and post-high school planning. The internships were with local employers and lasted through the school year and the summer after graduation. Most students were paid for their internships through Urban Alliance. The program also had mentors, who were employees at their internship sites, and program coordinators through Urban Alliance who provided dedicated support to a caseload of students.

Mandatory services:

Soft skills training

Comparison services:

The comparison group was not invited by Urban Alliance to participate in the HSIP. Most participants in the comparison group accessed college and career services through regular school channels.

Service receipt duration:

The program provided a six-month paid internship.

Program funding:

The Urban Alliance, a national non-profit organization, provided the funding to run the program.

Study publications

Theodos, Brett, Michael Pergamit, Devlin Hanson, Daniel Teles, Matthew Gerken, Katherine Thomas, Shannon Gedo, and Jein Park (2023). Evaluation of the Urban Alliance High School Internship Program, Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Available at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/Evaluation%20of%20the%20Urban%20Alliance%20High%20School%20Internship%20Program.pdf

Theodos, Brett, Michael Pergamit, Devlin Hanson, Daniel Teles, Mattie Mackenzie-Liu, and Alavi Rashid (2025). Long-Term evaluation of the Urban Alliance High School Internship Program, Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Available at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2025-02/Long-Term_Evaluation_of_the_Urban_Alliance_High_School_Internship_Program.pdf

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

Pathways to Work refers to programs by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some program names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

Study of Urban Alliance’s High School Internship Program