Study Details | Pathways to Work

3042-Study of Integrated

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because it did not use a method for addressing missing data that is known to limit bias.

Program: Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST)

Characteristics of study participants:

Unemployed

Services provided:

Case management, Integrated education and training, Job search assistance, Occupational or sectoral training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Tuition assistance/financial aid, Unconditional cash transfers

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Methods and Standards Protocol version used for review: Version 1.0

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Study design

Design:

Quasi-experimental design

Study group formation:

The I-BEST program was implemented at a number of community and technical colleges throughout Washington state. The program group consisted of students who chose to enroll in I-BEST. The comparison group included all basic skills students in the same community or technical colleges in Washington state who enrolled in a non-I-BEST occupational training course.

Time period of study:

The study included students who enrolled in I-BEST or a comparison program from 2006 to 2007 and from 2007 to 2008. The study authors examined outcomes until 2009 for both cohorts of participants.

Pathways to Work only reports results from studies with a study quality rating of high or moderate.

Sample characteristics

Age

Mean age

31 years

Sex

Female	63%
Male	37%

Race and ethnicity

Black or African American	11%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	21%
Another race	10%

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	44%
Single parents	21%

Employment and public benefit status

Were employed	9%
Were unemployed	91%
Public benefits recipients	41%
Cash assistance recipients	41%

Education

Had a high school diploma or GED	52%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	48%

Specific employment barriers

Had a disability

Program implementation

Implementing organization:

Community and technical colleges in Washington state

Program services:

Individuals in the program condition were students enrolled in I-BEST at community and technical colleges throughout Washington state. I-BEST provided those in the program condition with an integrated curriculum combining basic skill instruction in subjects like math and literacy with occupational classes in in-demand career pathways. The medical assistant, nurse's aide, and office manager I-BEST programs had the highest enrollments.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Individuals in the comparison condition were students with no prior college education who took a non-I-BEST basic skills course at a community college or technical school in Washington state.

Study publications

Jenkins, Davis, Matthew Zeidenberg, and Gregory S. Kienzl (2009). Educational outcomes of I-BEST, Washington State Community and Technical College System’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program: Findings from a multivariate analysis, CCRC Working Paper No. 16, New York, NY: Columbia University, Teachers College, Community College Research Center. Available at https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED505331

Wachen, John, Davis Jenkins, and Michelle Van Noy (2010). How I-BEST works: Findings from a field study of Washington state’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program, New York, NY: Columbia University, Teachers College, Community College Research Center. Available at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED512276.pdf

Wachen, John, Davis Jenkins, Clive Belfield, and Michelle Van Noy (2012). Contextualized college transition strategies for adult basic skills students: Learning from Washington state's I-BEST program model, New York, NY: Columbia University, Teachers College, Community College Research Center. Available at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED538999.pdf

Zeidenberg, Matthew, Sung-Woo Cho, and Davis Jenkins (2010). Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST): New evidence of effectiveness, Community College Research Center Working Paper No. 20, New York, NY: Columbia University, Teachers College, Community College Research Center. Available at https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED512261

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.

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Study of Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST)