New Horizons. A National Workplace Literacy Program. Final Report. 'New Horizons' External Evaluation Impact Study.

The New Horizons project was a workplace literacy partnership during which 454 employees (53%) of Georgetown Steel attended classes provided by Horry-Georgetown Technical College in Conway, South Carolina. Of the 454 participants, 294 were white, 159 were black, 71 were female, 383 were male, 133 had been with the company for 5 years or less, and 227 for 16 or more years. The participants, who had a mean age of 40.6 years, received a total of 14,232 hours of instruction in math, reading, writing, problem solving, and time management classes averaging 6-8 students per class. A comprehensive needs assessment was conducted to identify employees requiring basic skills instruction. Individualized Education Plans were developed for each participant. A comprehensive evaluation of trainee outcomes that included pre- and posttesting and interviews with participants and supervisors established that participants averaged 22%, 39%, and 14% gains in reading, math, and writing skills, respectively. Also included is a third-party evaluation report confirming the significant skill gains achieved by course participants. Appended to the third-party evaluation are the participant and supervisor survey forms, an analysis matrix of project objectives, and 22 charts detailing participant survey and pre- and posttest data. (MN)