EVALUATION

At the conclusion of 1999-2000, an independent evaluator conducted a detailed follow-up analysis of data collected during the project period. Perhaps the most stunning result to emerge from the study showed that fifty-three percent of the students surveyed who were tobacco users at the beginning of the project had quit using tobacco by the end of the curriculum. Only four percent tried smoking during the course of the project. The Artful Truth message reached 3,000 students directly and an additional 20,000 students indirectly, according to instructor estimates.

During 2000-2001 the independent evaluator again gathered and analyzed data on the participating students, and found that forty-two percent of the students surveyed who were tobacco users at the beginning of the project had quit using tobacco after the Artful Truth Project. Less than one percent of the students took up smoking during the course of the project. Particularly noteworthy was the finding that of students who scored 50 percent or lower on the Visual Literacy pretests, the average improvement was almost 2 points, out of a possible score of 12. Sixty percent of these students gained more than 2 points. The Artful Truth anti-tobacco message reached an additional 23,584 students for Program Year 2000-2001, over and above the 1,295 students directly served, according to instructor estimates.

The Artful Truth team of educators and designers developed a complete curriculum pack, based on the projects and teacher evaluations from the past two years, that enables any Florida educator to implement the program at any time. The packet includes an instructor manual, the student workbook Blast From the Future, lesson worksheets, FCAT-formatted evaluations, and visual aids.

Link to Evaluation 2000

Link to Evaluation 2001