Evaluation of the Pilot Program for Home School and ChalleNGe Program Recruits

Abstract

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 directed a 5-year pilot program to treat graduates of home schools and graduates of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program holding General Education Development (GED) diplomas as Tier 1 for enlistment eligibility purposes. The Department of Defense (DOD) classifies enlisted accessions into three tiers based on education credentials. Tier 1 recruits are primarily high school diploma graduates (HSDGs), Tier 2 recruits are primarily GEDs, and Tier 3 recruits are high school dropouts. Enlistment tiers are intended to reflect attrition patterns Tier 1 having the lowest attrition. DOD standards require that at least 90 percent of accessions be Tier 1. Recruits in Tiers 2 and 3 must score at or above the 50th percentile on the Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT). This study seeks to satisfy a congressional requirement for DOD to evaluate the performance of home school graduates and ChalleNGe graduates with GEDs and recommend their permanent tier status. The Directorate for Accession Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy) asked CNA to assess the early separation rates and interest in military service of these two groups of recruits and to identify effective ways to reach out to them.The size of the home school student population in the United States was approximately 800,000 during the 1999-2000 school year (about 2 percent of the K 12 population). In recent years, the number of home schoolers has grown by at least 7 percent per year. Common reasons for home schooling are dissatisfaction with the local schools and promotion of religious values. Home schoolers have strong academic achievement.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA593341

Entities

People

  • Brian D. Ray
  • Federico E. Garcia
  • James L. Gasch
  • Jennie W. Wenger

Organizations

  • CNA ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS ALEXANDRIA VA

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • African Americans
  • Air Force
  • Attrition
  • Basic Training
  • Department Of Defense
  • Drug Abuse
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Instructors
  • Law
  • Personnel Management
  • Regression Analysis
  • Schools
  • Students
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Training

Fields of Study

  • Education

Readers

  • Naval Personnel Management
  • STEM Education