Pathways after high school: Evaluation of the Urban Alliance High School Internship Program (Theodos et al., 2017)

The study used a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of the Urban Alliance High School Internship Program on employment, earnings, and education outcomes. Program applicants from the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years were randomly assigned to either the treatment or control group. For every two treatment participants, one was assigned to the control group. Of the 1,062 eligible high school students, 700 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 362 were randomly assigned to the control group. The study sample came from Urban Alliance sites in Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland. In Washington, DC, students were recruited to the program after Urban Alliance presented information during assemblies or in classrooms. In Baltimore, school counselors or teachers referred students. Only students in Baltimore received course credits for participating. In all, recruitment activities took place in 38 public and charter schools. Across the two sites, 65 percent of study participants were female, 95 percent were U.S. citizens, 11 percent were English-language learners, 89 percent were African American, and 75 percent had work experience. High school students assigned to the treatment group could participate in the High School Internship Program, while those assigned to the control group could not participate in the program.  

Data were obtained from baseline application forms, high school transcripts, Urban Alliance's program information, two follow-up surveys, the National Student Clearinghouse, and the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Information about neighborhood characteristics were obtained from the American Community Survey for 2008-2012. The authors used statistical models to compare differences in outcomes between treatment and control group members.