| Principal Investigators: | Greg Cumpton, PhD |
| Sponsor: | City of Austin |
| Project Duration: | March 2023 – December 2026 |
| Description: | The City of Austin has contracted with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to conduct an evaluation of the City’s workforce training investments. The purpose of this study is to identify within the City of Austin funded workforce development training ecosystem, programmatic or strategic elements that impact participant outcomes. Research findings will be used to guide strategic planning for the City’s workforce development efforts. |
| Reports Available: | Evaluation of the City of Austin Investment in Workforce Development: 2023 Annual Report Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Thomas Boswell, and Greg Cumpton, Principal Investigator Date: December 2023 Publication Type: Report, 41 pp. |
Hire Local Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Greg Cumpton, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Workforce Solutions Capital Area |
| Project Duration: | April 2022 – April 2025 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center has partnered with Workforce Solutions Capital Area to provide services to collect, analyze, and report data outcomes under the Hire Local Plan. |
| Reports Available: |
CAREER Project Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Greg Cumpton, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce |
| Project Duration: | February 2022 – May 2024 |
| Description: | The CAREER Project (Trellis Foundation’s Regional Ecosystem Innovation for Reskilling/Upskilling in Texas) aims to create a network of postsecondary and employment support for individuals in the Central Texas community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by building out widescale infrastructure like a referral map and integrated marketing and data efforts. The Ray Marshall Center has partnered with the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce to evaluate the CAREER Project. |
| Reports Available: |
Evaluation of the Building Construction Trades Grantees
| Principal Investigator: | Heath J. Prince, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Texas Workforce Commission |
| Project Duration: | December 2021 – November 2024 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources has partnered with the Texas Workforce Commission to conduct an evaluation of the Building Construction Trades Grantees Program, including assessing participant outcomes, program implementation, and participant and employer feedback on the programs. |
| Reports Available: |
Pursuit of Advanced Training in High-Demand Skills (PATHS) for Texas
| Principal Investigator: | Heath J. Prince, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas |
| Project Duration: | January 2020 – June 2025 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center will provide research support to the PATHS (Pursuit of Advanced Training in High-Demand Skills) for Texas project in partnership with Workforce Solutions Dallas. The goal of the PATHS project is to implement a statewide retail sector incumbent worker career advancement strategy. The RMC’s primary role under this grant will be to evaluate outcomes in order to provide evidence of success and efficacy for expansion and regional replication. Specifically, the RMC will undertake the following tasks related to (1) performing an independent evaluation of quantitative outcomes for PATHS; (2) conduct an end-of-grant cost-benefit analysis; and (3) the RMC will conduct the final evaluation report. |
| Reports Available: | PATHS for Texas: Interim Descriptive Statistics, Outcomes, Impacts, Survey Results, and Qualitative Summary 2024 Update Author: Thomas Boswell, Patty Rodriguez, and Heath Prince Date: July 2024 Publication Type: Report, 49pp. PATHS for Texas: Interim Descriptive Statistics, Outcomes, Impacts, and Survey Results |
Project QUEST Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Greg Cumpton, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Economic Mobility Corporation, Inc |
| Project Duration: | January 2018 – December 2023 |
| Description: | Project QUEST provides employment training and services aligned with the skills most in demand by San Antonio, Texas employers. The Ray Marshall Center will be working with the Economic Mobility Corporation, Inc (Mobility) and building around their recent program evaluation of Project QUEST. This innovative partnership links both QUEST participants and similar non-participants to Texas Unemployment Insurance wage records. By combining self-reported and administrative data, the research will seek to verify self-reported outcomes, enhance the longitudinal tracking of employment and earnings both prior to and after completing QUEST, and measure long-term impacts of program participation. |
| Reports Available: |
An Evaluation of Workforce Development Services in Travis County
| Principal Investigator: | Heath J. Prince, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Travis County, Texas |
| Project Duration: | January 2006 – September 2025 |
| Description: | For more than fifteen years, Travis County has invested between $1-2.5 million in workforce development programs for disadvantaged residents. The purpose of the evaluation is to examine outcomes and impacts for participants in Travis County-funded community-based workforce programs over time and to provide recommendations and support for County and provider staff based on data analysis and best practice research. Seven providers with long standing County contracts have been the focus of an ongoing evaluation of the outcomes and impacts of local workforce services investments led by the Ray Marshall Center since 2006:
Researchers at the Ray Marshall Center have produced a series of reports documenting the employment outcomes and impacts for participants from these programs over time. Findings from this evaluation have also been presented to the local workforce board, the County Commissioners Court, and at Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) fall research conferences. Other Social Services Recently, the evaluation has expanded to include an analysis of other County-funded social services for disadvantaged residents. The first phase of this evaluation component focuses on analysis of historical Family Support Services (FSS) program data. Specifically, Travis County HHS has asked the RMC to review the evaluation design and methods implemented by BSS (Best Single Source), to create a parallel evaluation of the standard delivery of services (EACO or Emergency Assistance County Only), to help implement the evaluation, and to analyze and report on the results. The second phase of the evaluation will benchmark Travis County’s program with support programs offered by similar counties in Texas and beyond. |
| Reports Available | Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2024 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2024 Update Report Appendices Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Patty Rodriguez, David McCoy, Heath Prince (Principal Investigator), and Thomas Boswell Date: December 9, 2024 Publication Type: Report, 174 pp. Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development 2023 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2022 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2021 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2020 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2019 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2018 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2017 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2016 Update Improving the Measurement and Effectiveness of Family Support Services: A Comparative Review of County Practices Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2015 Update An Evaluation of Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2014 Update An Evaluation of Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2013 Update The Local Investment in Workforce Development Evaluation: Travis County-Funded 2009/2010 Participant Plus Longer-Term Outcomes for Capital IDEA Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2012 Evaluation Update Evaluation of Local Workforce Demonstration Projects – Travis County’s REM and GEM Projects Exploratory Return on Investment Analysis of Local Workforce Investments Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2011 Evaluation Update Rapid Employment Model Evaluation – 2011 Update Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Update #2 Evaluating Local Workforce Investments: Results for Short- and Long-Term Training in Austin (TX) Local Investments in Workforce Development: Evaluation Update Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Update Local Investments in Workforce Development: Initial Evaluation Findings Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Initial Findings |
Central Texas Student Futures Project
| Principal Investigator: | Greg Cumpton, PhD |
| Sponsors: | Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, TG, Texas Education Agency, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Surveys: | Central Texas Student Futures Project 2021 Surveys Hays CISD 2021 Surveys |
| Project Duration: | September 2004 – March 2024 |
| Participating Districts: | Austin ISD, Bastrop ISD, Del Valle ISD, Eanes ISD, Elgin ISD, Hays CISD, Hutto ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Leander ISD, Liberty Hill ISD, Lockhart ISD, Manor ISD, Pflugerville ISD, Round Rock ISD, San Marcos CISD |
| Description: | The Student Futures Project—formerly known as Creating a Central Texas High School Data Center—is a research partnership of the Ray Marshall Center, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Skillpoint Alliance, and a growing number of Central Texas independent school districts (ISDs). The project is documenting and analyzing the progress of Central Texas high school students as they move onto colleges and careers. It relies on a combination of student surveys and linked administrative records to improve feedback and policy and program alignment for Central Texas ISDs in preparing students for the demands of adulthood and for success in the workplace. The purpose of the Student Futures Project is two-fold: 1) To provide ISDs, postsecondary institutions, and employers with comprehensive, longitudinal research on what high school students are doing after graduation, why they are making these decisions, and how a variety of educational, personal, and financial factors are related to their success in higher education and the workforce; and 2) To offer workshops, seminars, and applied research on best practices and applied research that will assist ISDs, the Education Service Center, and postsecondary institutions to increase the number of regional youth who obtain postsecondary academic and workforce credentials.
Each year the Student Futures Project issues reports on area high school graduates to allow districts and schools to see exactly how their preparation has helped high school students move on to the next phase of their development either in college, training, or the workplace. The reports address the following questions, among others: • Who is and is not going to college and why? These reports will trace each graduating class as they move through work, postsecondary education and training, and other options for up to four years after graduation. The focus of these reports is to identify trends and practices that best enable students to capitalize on the opportunities they meet after graduation and to ensure that schools have a process for evaluating how they prepare their students for what lies beyond graduation. |
| Reports Available: | Findings from the 2014 Senior Surveys Authors: Carinne Deeds and Greg Cumpton Date: January 2015 Publication Type: Report, 88pp. Findings from the 2013 Senior Surveys Initial Postsecondary Enrollment Statistics through December 2011 for Class of 2011 Central Texas Graduates Trends in Low-Income Enrollment and Outcomes in Central Texas for School Districts and Campuses, 2008 through 2012 The Influence of Activities and Coursework on Postsecondary Enrollment and One-Year Persistence for the Class of 2010 FAFSA Filling Patterns and Direct to College Outcomes for Class of 2012 Central Texas Graduates Initial Postsecondary Enrollment Statistics through December 2012 Findings from the 2012 Senior Surveys Factors Associated with Education and Work after High School for the Classes of 2008 and 2009 Initial Postsecondary Enrollment Statistics for 2010 Central Texas Graduates through December 2010 Findings from the 2010 Senior Surveys Initial Postsecondary Enrollment Statistics through December 2009 for Class of 2009 Central Texas Graduates Findings from the 2009 Senior Surveys Central Texas Student Futures Project Conceptual Model Education and Work After High School: Central Texas Outcomes through December 2008 Education and Work after High School: Findings from Multi-Methods Research in Central Texas Findings from the 2008 Senior Surveys Education and Work after High School: A First Look at the Class of 2007 Student Futures Project 2007 Research Brief Findings from the 2007 Senior Surveys Community Briefing: Education and Work After High School: A First Look Outcomes One Year Later: An Update on the Class of 2006 Education and Work After High School: A First Look at the Class of 2006 Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Findings from the 2006 Senior Surveys Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Year One Report Brief Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Year One Final Report Beyond the Numbers: Improving Post-Secondary Success through a Central Texas High School Data Center Preliminary Year One Findings: January 2006 |
