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This report provides descriptions and statistics on Georgia's ten Youth Development Centers designed for the care of delinquent children. Title I courses include business education, cultural enrichment, small appliance, furniture repair, and basic skills, with an emphasis on the latter. Results of the enrichment courses fall in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Gains such as increased knowledge of jobs available and training necessary for each, improved peer relationships, and development of marketable skills are reported. Program content is said to be determined through a needs assessment which takes place at each center. Performance objectives are written for the programs once needs and priorities are established. This area is stated to be of greatest potential for the centers. Although some centers state objectives in limited, observable, and behavioral terms, other centers state their objectives in non-behavioral terms establishing no definite criteria for measuring the impact of these programs. Another area of potential for the entire system is said to be that of instructional activities and methods. The incorporation of a more comprehensive system of describing instructional activities and methods is seen as a way to remedy the situation. Additional areas of possible common interest for all the centers are said to be systems used for scheduling and patterns of organization. (Author/AM)

This evaluation report identifies recent trends of Title I and examines their cost. The question said to be addressed is whether Title I financed activities in Georgia have any positive effect on the learning outcomes of participating children. Chapters deal with basic statistics for FY 74, pupil participation, expenditures, impact on achievement, analysis of objectives, other facets, exemplary programs, summary, and recommendations. Thesummary section is discussed in terms of participation, expenditures, and evaluation. Recommendations include the following: that Title I in Georgia be continued, that the concentration on the improvement of basic skills for students be increased, that local educational agencies strive for more formal, more formative evaluation efforts, and that compensatory aid to education be continued on the basis of three-year funding segments rather than the present one-year segment. More system-oriented approaches that define areas of student needs are seen to be the trend. (Author/AM)

This is the annual evaluation report (1974-1975) for the Georgia Schools' Title I programs. Title I programming emphasis is increasingly oriented toward basic skills. In the programs evaluated, 99.5% of the total participating units of instructional activities were in preschool education, reading, and mathematics. For the first time, the local educational agencies (LEAs) were required to submit objective achievement information if they collected it. In addition, they were asked to rate the success of their project as they perceived it. These two kinds of evaluation information revealed that in the area of preschool education, 84.7% of the students both pre and post tested met or exceeded the objective, and 95.3% preschool projects were considered successful or very successful. In the area of reading, 53.2% of the students met or exceeded the objective, and 84.8% of reading projects were considered successful or very successful. In the area of mathematics, 65.4% of those students pre and post tested met or exceeded the objective, and 85.8% of mathematics projects were considered successful or very successful by LEA's. This shows a correlation between perceived success and actual success in terms of student achievement in these areas. In terms of objective type, two topped the list as most successful, the "involvement, interest" objective type, and the objective type concerned with "reducing discipline problems." The objective type judged to be least successful was the one concerned with "improving mental health". It was recommended that the Title I programs in Georgia be continued. (Author/AM)

Title I programming emphasis in Georgia is increasingly oriented toward basic skills. Fifty-eight percent of the total "participation units" were engaged in English reading and mathematics activities. No other activity or service received as much as 8 percent of the participation total. English reading activities accounted for 56.5 percent of Title I expenditures; preschool activities, 12.8 percent; and mathematics, 13.2 percent, totalling 82.5 percent among them. No other activity or service received as much as 3 percent of total expenditures. Preschool activities received the highest concentration of financial effort. Local Educational Agency (LEA) attempts at evaluating Title I programs varied widely in quality. On the basis of local perceptions of success expressed on a four point scale, 85 percent of all activities/services were considered successful or very successful. The average expenditure of funds per participant tended to rise according to LEA perceptions of success. English/speech activities received the highest success rating; media was rated second; and kindergarten/preschool was rated third. Beyond such basic descriptive statistical data, there is evidence of effective, innovative programming efforts. (Author/JM)