AN EVALUATION OF STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN PENNSYLVANIA

This study evaluated the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDOE) s ponsored training of members of core team Student Assistance Programs (SAPs). Surveys were mailed to samples of core team members and non-co re team colleagues, and a sample of core team coordinators received te lephone interviews. In a comparative analysis of answers to selected q uestions from Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) data, student respo nse averages from 11 schools that had implemented the core teams were compared with 11 matched schools that had no SAP programs. Fifty-seven percent of the core team members and 59% of the non-core team members returned surveys, and 89% of the coordinators were interviewed. Gener ally, the training was viewed very positively. Some components of the training program needed to be improved through extended training time or follow-up training modules. Implementation occurred quickly after t raining and was viewed very positively by respondents. Of the 28 EQA i tems studied in the comparative analysis, students in the schools that had SAPs were more likely to talk to friends about the risks of smoki ng (p <. 02).