Effects of Correctional Education on Recidivism, Employment, and Academic Skills

This work centers on several meta-analyses of how education programs in carceral settings (e.g., prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers) influence the academic skills of incarcerated individuals, as well as their recidivism and employment rates after release.

Educational Methods for Incarcerated Adults and Juveniles

Funder: U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance
Years: 2010-2013

Articles

Bozick, R., Steele, J., Davis, L., Turner, S., (2018). Does providing inmates with education improve post-release outcomes? A meta-analysis of correctional education programs in the United States. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 14(3), 389-428. doi:10.1007/s11292-018-9334-6
This article provides a five-year update to meta-analytic findings reported in the Davis et al. (2013) monograph listed below. Our study addresses the question: Does providing inmates with education while incarcerated reduce their chances of recidivism and improve their postrelease employment prospects? We aggregated 37 years of research (1980–2017) on correctional education and applied meta-analytic techniques. As the basis for our meta-analysis, we identified a total of 57 studies that used recidivism as an outcome and 21 studies that used employment as an outcome. We then applied random-effects regression across the effect sizes abstracted from each of these studies. When focusing on studies with the highest caliber research designs, we found that inmates participating in correctional education programs were 28% less likely to recidivate when compared with inmates who did not participate in correctional education programs. However, we found that inmates receiving correctional education were as likely to obtain postrelease employment as inmates not receiving correctional education. Our meta-analysis demonstrates the value in providing inmates with educational opportunities while they serve their sentences if the goal of the program is to reduce recidivism.
Article Alt Link Bibtex

Steele, J. L., Bozick, R., Davis, L. M. (2016.) Education for incarcerated juveniles: A meta-analysis. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 21(2), 65-89.
Based on screenings of 1,150 manuscripts, we synthesize evidence from 18 eligible studies of educational interventions implemented within juvenile correctional facilities. The studies include 5 intervention categories: remedial academic instruction, computer-assisted instruction, personalized academic instruction, vocational education, and GED completion. Effectiveness is measured in terms of 4 outcomes: academic performance in reading or mathematics, diploma completion, postrelease employment, and postrelease recidivism. Focusing on studies with the strongest basis for causal inference, we find positive and statistically significant effects for computer-assisted instruction in raising reading comprehension, and for personalized learning in improving diploma completion and post-release employment. These findings are driven by large and well-executed randomized trials of Scholastic’s Read 180 curriculum and Florida’s Avon Park Youth Academy. Despite the limited research base, these studies suggest that it is possible to undertake rigorous research in juvenile facilities about programs that best improve the outcomes of young offenders.
Article Preprint Bibtex

Monographs

Davis, L. M., Steele, J. L., Bozick, R., Williams, M., Turner, S., Miles, J. N. V., Saunders, J., & Steinberg, P. S. (2014). How effective is correctional education, and where do we go from here? The results of a comprehensive evaluation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. ISBN: 978-0-8330-8493-4.
More than 2 million adults are incarcerated in U.S. prisons, and each year more than 700,000 leave federal and state prisons and return to communities. Unfortunately, within three years, 40 percent will be reincarcerated. One reason for this is that ex-offenders lack the knowledge, training, and skills to support a successful return to communities. Trying to reduce such high recidivism rates is partly why states devote resources to educating and training individuals in prison. This raises the question of how effective — and cost-effective — correctional education is — an even more salient question given the funding environment states face from the 2008 recession and its continuing aftermath. With funding from the Second Chance Act of 2007, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, asked RAND to help answer this question as part of a comprehensive examination of the current state of correctional education for incarcerated adults and juveniles. The RAND team conducted a systematic review of correctional education programs for incarcerated adults and juveniles. This included a meta-analysis on correctional education’s effects on recidivism and postrelease employment outcomes for incarcerated adults, as well as a synthesis of evidence on programs for juveniles. The study also included a nationwide survey of state correctional education directors to understand how correctional education is provided today and the recession’s impact. The authors also compared the direct costs of correctional education with those of reincarceration to put the recidivism findings into a broader context. Monograph Bibtex RAND Research Brief

Davis, L. M., Bozick, R., Steele, J. L., Saunders, J., Miles, J. (2013). Evaluating the effectiveness of correctional education: A meta-analysis of programs that provide education to incarcerated adults. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation. ISBN: 978-0-8330-8108-7.
After conducting a comprehensive literature search, the authors undertook a meta-analysis to examine the association between correctional education and reductions in recidivism, improvements in employment after release from prison, and learning in math and in reading. Their findings support the premise that receiving correctional education while incarcerated reduces an individual’s risk of recidivating. They also found that those receiving correctional education had improved odds of obtaining employment after release. The authors also examined the benefits of computer-assisted learning and compared the costs of prison education programs with the costs of reincarceration. Key findings: (1) Correctional education improves inmates’ chances of not returning to prison. Inmates who participate in correctional education programs had a 43 percent lower odds of recidivating than those who did not. This translates to a reduction in the risk of recidivating of 13 percentage points. (2) It may improve their chances of obtaining employment after release. The odds of obtaining employment post-release among inmates who participated in correctional education was 13 percent higher than the odds for those who did not participate in correctional education. (3) Inmates exposed to computer-assisted instruction learned slightly more in reading and substantially more in math in the same amount of instructional time. (4) Providing correctional education can be cost-effective when it comes to reducing recidivism.
Monograph Bibtex RAND Research Brief

Op-Eds

Davis, L., & Steele, J. L. (2014, April 9). Sending prisoners to college will save you money. Newsday.