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The Aides to Career Education (ACE) Program employs instructional aides to help disadvantaged vocational education students in Los Angeles develop positive attitudes toward education and employment, more cooperative behavior, pride in their course work, efficiency in completing assigned tasks, and improved attendance. In 1975-76 (the fourth year) there were 289 aides assigned to 49 high schools and 1 regional occupational center plus 13 counselor aides in 13 urban impact schools. The (1975-76) evaluation included analysis of quantitative data, administration of questionnaires to certificated, classified, and student personnel, and onsite visitations by project administrators. Findings indicated that the program was effective in meeting its overall goal of increasing individual assistance to disadvantaged students. The program had a generally positive effect on the students assisted, especially on the slower ones. The greatest efforts of the aides were in the area of direct assistance to students. Project objectives for median ratings of 3.0 or more (on a 1-4 scale) were met in all areas and were higher than in the previous year; attendance of students in classes with ACE aides was also higher. Monthly inservice education workshops for development of aides' skills and for acquisition of feedback about the program were found to be generally effective. Provision of career guidance counselors and of teacher-developed instructional materials was found by teachers to be valuable. For the third year the number of hours assigned to each aide and the number of aides assigned to each school were reported to be inadequate to meet student needs. (Data analysis and recommendations are included.) (TA)

The Aides to Career Education (ACE) Program, a Los Angeles Vocational Amendments Part A project, employs instructional aides to help disadvantaged vocational education students develop positive attitudes toward education and employment, more cooperative behavior, pride in their course work, efficiency in completing assigned tasks, and improved attendance. The purpose is to improve the students' educational performance and employment potential. The evaluation included: (1) analysis of quantitative data; (2) administration of questionnaires to certified, classified, and student personnel; (3) on-site visitations by project administrators; and (4) a comparison study of student achievement. The findings are presented and discussed, concluding that the program effectively met its overall goal of increasing individual assistance to disadvantaged vocational education students and had a generally positive effect on them. The aides' greatest efforts were in direct assistance to students, as guidelines required. Project objectives for median rating of 3.0 or more (on a 1-to-4 scale) in selected program aspects were met, except for the dropout rate and school attitudes. Grades in ACE classes were slightly higher than in others, but citizenship grades were similar. Inservice education was generally effective. The number of aides and their hours were deemed inadequate. Survey instruments and human relations workshop evaluations are appended. (AJ)

A readability formula for elementary Spanish instructional materials was developed by building on previous research, particularly in regard to the application of the Fry readability graph to Spanish language materials. The study began with the selection of average sentence length and number of syllables per 100 words as independent variables. Sample 100-word passages were selected from each grade level of ten different basal reader series used in the United States, Latin America, and Spain. The mean and standard deviation for average sentence length and number of syllables per passage were tabulated, and multiple regression analyses were performed for each series. Grade level was the dependent variable. A formula was derived from the analyses, and a readability graph was generated by computer to eliminate the computation and simplify use of the procedure. It is suggested that the formula and graph provide a procedure as convenient for Spanish as the Fry graph is for English, and that it can serve as a guide for writing elementary level instructional materials in Spanish and for teachers in selecting materials. Several tables detailing the data analysis are included in the text. (MSE)

The purpose of the Aides to Career Education (ACE) Program was to provide assistance to disadvantaged students in vocational education courses in Los Angeles by employing instructional aides to assist in improving the educational performance and in enhancing the employment potential of disadvantaged students. The document briefly outlines the implementation of the program inservice education (Workshops), the handbook, and the formation of the advisory committee. The evaluation was conducted in three areas: analysis of quantitative data, administration of questionnaires to certificated, classified, and student personnel, and onsite visitations by project administrators. The findings of the quantitative data analysis and the responses to the questionnaires of 209 aides, 157 teachers, 52 principals, two of the six district vocational education supervisors, and of the 725 students (of 1500) are presented in tabular form and briefly discussed and compared. Responses were generally favorable. The brief conclusions discuss the need for further clarification and expansion of the aide's role to increase individual attention. Recommendations focused on this problem, inservice education, communication, and increasing the number of aides. The appendixes provide: aide, teacher, administrator and staff, student, and supervisor questionnaires, ACE program data sheets, and aide profile. (Author/JB)