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News From Mathematica
November 30, 2005: A Semimonthly Update on New Publications, Presentations, and Other Developments
In This Issue:
Annual Brief on State Food Stamp Participation Rates Released
Article Explores the Ethics of Federal Social Program Evaluation
Lessons from the Field: Universal Engagement in Practice
Alternative Routes to Teaching: Impacts of Teach For America
Who's Presenting at the American Public Health Association Meetings?
On the Move: Staff News and Changes
Fact to Consider:
About 56 percent of the eligible people in the United States received food stamps in 2003, although participation rates varied widely from state to state—22 states had significantly higher and 16 had rates significantly lower than the national rate. Source: See below.
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New Publications
Measuring Program Performance
 “Reaching Those in Need: State Food Stamp Participation Rates in 2003.” Laura A. Castner and Allen L. Schirm, November 2005. This new policy brief looks at whether food stamps are getting to the people who need them, noting wide variation from state to state.
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Program Evaluation Ethics
 "Comments on Dr. Blustein's Paper, 'Toward a More Public Discussion of the Ethics of Federal Social Program Evaluation.'" Peter Z. Schochet, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, volume 24, 2005. Notes that the Job Corps evaluators adhered to the Belmont principles in accordance with the evaluation goals mandated by Congress and the realities of using random assignment to evaluate an ongoing program.
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Moving Toward Self-Sufficiency
 "Universal Engagement in Practice: Lessons from the Implementation of the Pathways Case Management System. Lessons from the Field." LaDonna Pavetti, Michelle Derr, Jacqueline Kauff, and Gretchen Kirby, November 2005. Pathways is a set of protocols and other tools to help welfare office staff support their clients in the transition to employment. It was launched in 1995 by Project Match and is based on the philosophy of "universal engagement" central to most TANF reauthorization proposals. This brief reviews implementation of Pathways in two counties in New York and one in California, offering insight into what might be required to achieve universal engagement as well as how systems like Pathways might become more effective tools for achieving higher work participation rates.
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Alternative Routes to Teaching
"Alternative Routes to Teaching: The Impacts of Teach For America on Student Achievement and Other Outcomes." Steven Glazerman, Daniel Mayer, and Paul Decker, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, volume 25, 2006. Based on a randomized experiment to study the impact of Teach For America (TFA) on student achievement and other outcomes, the authors find that TFA teachers had a positive impact on math achievement and no impact on reading achievement. The size of the impact on math achievement was about 15 percent of a standard deviation, equivalent to about one month of instruction. There were no impacts on other outcomes, such as attendance, promotion, or disciplinary incidents, but TFA teachers were more likely than their peers to report problems with student behavior. The findings contradict claims that these types of alternative teacher preparation programs harm students.
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Upcoming Presentations
 Mark your calendar to come hear Mathematica's experts present their work on quality of care, children's health insurance, disability initiatives, and other topics at the 2005 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting on December 11 to 14 in Philadelphia. The conference theme, Evidence-Based Policy and Practice, explores the processes of systematically finding, appraising, and using scientific research as the basis for developing sound policies and practices that improve health outcomes and performance and allow more efficient use of resources. In addition, this type of research gives policymakers a better understanding of the science, ensuring that policy decisions are based on the best information available. For a list of who will be presenting, check our conference calendar. For more on the conference, click here.
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On the Move: Staff News and Changes
Senior fellow Ronette Briefel served on the National Academy of Sciences panel on Enhancing the Data Infrastructure in Support of Food and Nutrition Programs, Research and Decision-Making. The panel’s report, “Improving Data to Analyze Food and Nutrition Policies,” sponsored by USDA's Economic Research Service, provides recommendations for data improvements to current data collection systems to meet food and nutrition program and policy data needs. It is available for downloading or purchase. The National Academies bring together committees of experts in all areas of scientific endeavor to address critical national issues and give advice to the federal government and the public.
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For more information, please contact Publications, 609-275-2350.
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