Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of Junior Apprenticeship Advantage (JAA) on education outcomes.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of individuals who participated in JAA to individuals who did not. Using surveys and competency tests, the author conducted statistical tests to compare the outcomes between the groups at 6, 12, and 18 months.
- The study found that participation in the JAA was significantly related to lower competency scores at 6 months.
- This study receives a low evidence rating. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Junior Apprenticeship Advantage (JAA) program; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Junior Apprenticeship Advantage (JAA)
Features of the Intervention
The Highlands–Oberg Junior Apprenticeship Advantage (JAA) Program was a partnership between the Highlands School District and Oberg Industries in Pennsylvania which offered students an apprenticeship in precision manufacturing. Although the traditional vocational track is three years, this apprenticeship leverages an accelerated precision manufacturing education in the students' senior year. The JAA program was developed as a trade program delivered within a high school curriculum, as opposed to removing students from the high school environment to attend a vocational school. JAA students were enrolled in classes on computer aided design, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, metrology, and advanced geometry and trigonometry. In addition to classes, students would participate in job shadowing at Oberg’s facility twice per week. The program served high school students interested in a vocational career, but who did not want to be removed from traditional high school.
Features of the Study
The author used a nonexperimental comparison group design to evaluate the impact of the JAA on education outcomes. The study participants included 22 apprentices working at Oberg Industries who graduated in the last 3 years. The treatment group was comprised of 9 Oberg apprentices who graduated from the JAA program. The comparison group was comprised of 13 Oberg apprentices who graduated from a traditional CTE vocational program. The majority of participants were younger than 21 (81%), and most had worked at Oberg for less than two years (81%).
Participants completed a Pre-Apprenticeship Survey that included demographics, high school education, extracurricular activities, attendance, early employment information, and whether they were JAA or CTE students. The competencies gained by each group of apprentices was measured through competency tests completed 6, 12, and 18 months after joining Oberg. The competency tests measured 140 apprenticeship skills prescribed by the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA). The author used statistical tests to compare differences in competency scores between participants in the JAA program and participants in the CTE program.
Findings
Education and skills gains
- The study found that participants in the CTE group had significantly higher competency scores than participants in the JAA group at 6 months, but found no significant differences at 12 or 18 months.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The author did not account for other factors that could have affected the difference between the groups, such as race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status as required by the protocol. These preexisting differences between the groups—and not the JAA program—could explain the observed differences in outcomes. Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Junior Apprenticeship Advantage (JAA) program; other factors are likely to have contributed.