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