Prison Literacy: Implications for Program and Assessment Policy.

eductions of from 30% to 80% in recidivism for follow-up periodsas long as fifteen years after program completion" (Ross &Gendreau, 1980, p. 1; Ross & Fabiano, 1983; Ross, 1990).Ross and Fabiano found that some prison education programsreduced recidivism whereas others seem actually to have increasedit. Premising their work on earlier studies, they attempted todiscern the difference between "programs that work" and thosethat do not, "on the basis of the presence or absence of specificcognitive components in the program" (Gendreau & Ross, 1983).Their highly selective criteria for inclusion were that a study had todemonstrate the following characteristics:conducted within an experimental or quasi-experimental designincluded follow-up assessment of delinquent or criminalbehavioryielded a statistical evaluation of outcome datawas judged for effectiveness on the basis of statisticallysignificant differences between the outcomes of the groups thatwere enrolled in the prison education programs and control orcomparison groups 35They found reports of 15 effective cognitive programs,35 of 10effective non-cognitive programs (7 of the 10 dealing withjuveniles),37 and of 1 ineffective cognitive program and 24ineffective non-cognitive programs.33 Their analysis of the data ledthem to conclude that "the effectiveness of programs wassignificantly associated with their use of cognitive training...Eandthat] how the offender thinks may be associated with his criminalbehavior and with his rehabilitation."39 Keeping in mind thesestandards for cognitive effectiveness in a prison educationprogram that yields success in reducing recidivism, we have readreports of a number of other efforts that seem to offer furtherevidence of the success of this approach:10In the bleak world of scholarship about criminals, the news thata certain type of education can be statistically relied upon toreduce recidivism comes as a dazzling revelation. The conclusionsof Ross & Co., supported by Ryan, O'Neil, and others, adds up to anew hope for inmate habilitation and an emerging new theory ofeducation in prisons and jails.5 )34 TECHNICAL REPORT T193-1