New Publications
Strengthening the Workforce
 “Developing the IT Workforce: Certification Programs, Participants, and Outcomes in High Schools and Two-Year Colleges.” Joshua Haimson and Michelle VanNoy, September 2004. Skill standards and certification tests have figured prominently in recent efforts to improve schools' information technology classes. Mathematica completed the first national study of high school and college information technology skill certification programs. In addition to documenting the prevalence and size of these programs in 2002, this report examines the mix of students participating, the issues programs face, and the extent to which students secure certifications and achieve other important outcomes.
|
Methods Update
 "Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Data Quality Study." Kenneth W. Jackson, Scott Peeckson, Donsig Jang, and Amang Sukasih, September 2005. The authors analyze the quality of eight data components from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The evaluation was limited to data collected over the web from Title IV institutions in 2002-2003 and subsequently modified or "corrected" in 2003-2004, as well as data files available from one of the largest postsecondary education databases maintained by Thomson Peterson's, for comparison. They conclude that IPEDS data were accurate; very few institutions modified their submissions and among those that did, the changes had little impact on the original data. Additionally, information was more likely to be found in IPEDS than in Thomson Peterson's. The results confirm the perception that IPEDS is the most comprehensive data system available for postsecondary education.
|
Consumer Direction and the Workforce
 "How Do Hired Workers Fare Under Consumer-Directed Personal Care?" Stacy Dale, Randall Brown, Barbara Phillips, and Barbara Lepidus Carlson, The Gerontologist, 2005. A growing number of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving disability-related assistance in their homes hire workers and manage the services themselves under consumer-directed care. Although consumer direction clearly benefits beneficiaries, it is sustainable only if workers are satisfied with their experiences. Directly hired workers in this study were almost always the consumers' friends or relatives; compared with agency workers, these individuals provided comparable amounts of care and reported similar levels of physical injury, but they were more likely to report emotional strain and want more respect from the consumer's family. States may be able to reduce emotional strain and injury through educational materials and counseling.
|
APPAM Presentations
Mathematica will be well represented at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management fall conference, Understanding and Informing Policy Design, from November 3 to 5 in Washington, DC. This conference will explore the role of policy design at the nexus of public affairs scholarship and practice, including theories and evidence to inform the content of public policies as well as the role played by this type of information in the policy design process. For a list of our experts who will be presenting their work, go to our conference calendar. |
|
For more information, please contact Publications, 609-275-2350.
Back to top
|
