Academic Achievement and the Implications for Prison Program Effectiveness and Reentry

• Author: Ryan T. Motz,Joseph L. Nedelec,Joshua C. Cochran,Ian A. Silver
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854820919790
• Published date: 01 July 2020
• Date: 01 July 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2020, Vol. 47, No. 7, July 2020, 848 –866.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854820919790

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2020 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

848

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND THE

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRISON PROGRAM

EFFECTIVENESS AND REENTRY

IAN A. SILVER

JOSHUA C. COCHRAN

RYAN T. MOTZ

JOSEPH L. NEDELEC

University of Cincinnati

The current study examines how academic achievement—measured as verbal and math performance—is associated with

prison programming and reentry. We assess how academic achievement might be directly associated with recidivism and

whether this occurs indirectly by moderating the effectiveness of in-prison programs. Using a statewide subsample of incar-

cerated individuals (N = 13,536), the results illustrated that academic achievement directly and indirectly affected the likeli-

hood of recidivism. Lower academic achievement was associated with a higher likelihood of recidivism immediately upon

reentry, but was also linked to greater effectiveness of prison programs aimed at reducing recidivism. The reduction in the

likelihood of reincarceration associated with program participation was greater for individuals with lower academic achieve-

ment compared with those with higher academic achievement. The results underscore how individual differences can lead to

heterogeneous outcomes and emphasize the need to target those individuals most likely to struggle with the practical barriers

of reentry.

Keywords: incarceration; academic achievement; recidivism; inequality; rehabilitation

INTRODUCTION

Scholarship on mass incarceration in the United States identifies many social disadvan-

tages that incarcerated populations experience before, during, and after a prison term (Mears

et al., 2008). In particular, this literature identifies critical gaps in education, literacy, and

verbal comprehension for incarcerated individuals relative to the general population

(Bronson et al., 2015). Although theory suggests that academic achievement has important

implications for incarceration and reentry, limited empirical knowledge exists about how it

does so (Cottle et al., 2001; Diamond et al., 2012).

AUTHORS’ NOTE: We thank the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections for providing the data

and John Wooldredge for assistance with the data. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors

alone, not the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Correspondence concerning this article

should be addressed to Ian A. Silver, Department of Law and Justice Studies, Rowan University, 201 Mullica

Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ 08028‑1700; e‑mail: silveria@rowan.edu.

919790CJBXXX10.1177/0093854820919790Criminal Justice and BehaviorSilver et al. / Academic Achievement and Prison Reentry

research‑article2020

Silver et al. / ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND PRISON REENTRY 849

At the same time, a substantial body of scholarship on correctional treatment effective-

ness consistently identifies vast heterogeneity in the effectiveness of in-prison programs

(e.g., Andrews & Bonta, 2010). State prison systems offer a diverse menu of program and

treatment options, but recent evaluation research underscores challenges identifying how

characteristics of people and places condition treatment effectiveness (Lipsey et al., 2007;

Mears & Cochran, 2015). Thus, scholars have called for more research aimed at systemati-

cally assessing the factors that might lead to variable treatment effects, or otherwise under-

mine the effectiveness of correctional programs (Silver et al., 2018).

Drawing on these two areas of inquiry, the goal of the current study is to develop a better

understanding of how academic achievement influences formerly incarcerated individuals’

reentry by examining (a) whether academic achievement is associated with recidivism like-

lihoods and (b) whether academic achievement does so indirectly, by modifying or under-

mining the effectiveness of in-prison treatments and programs that specifically target

recidivism reduction. These analyses advance the body of scholarship aimed at understand-

ing explanations of treatment heterogeneity and, specifically, the potential merits of prison

programs that target verbal and math functioning (e.g., Andrews & Bonta, 2010). If reha-

bilitative programs are less impactful for individuals with lower academic achievement, it

would suggest that prison systems face a critical needs–services gap—one that would

instead require prisons to take special care to address educational needs of individuals

before turning to other rehabilitative efforts. Alternatively, if results indicate that individu-

als with lower academic achievement benefit more from reentry-focused programs, this

would raise questions about the extent to which these and other at-risk groups are more or

less likely to access in-prison programs.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND INCARCERATION EXPERIENCES

Preceding incarceration, incarcerated populations are more likely than nonincarcerated

populations to come from educationally and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods

(Cochran et al., 2016), and possess diminished academic achievement. Moreover, when

compared with the general population, those incarcerated are less likely to be employed

(Visher & Travis, 2003), to be financially secure (Travis, 2005), to have stable living situa-

tions (Richie, 2001), and to have prosocial peer networks (Cobbina et al., 2012). Even

compared with populations under community supervision, incarcerated individuals are gen-

erally less well-off—they have higher rates of recidivism, unemployment, and adverse out-

comes across other life course domains (Markman et al., 2016).

Incarcerated populations enter and leave prison with a host of disadvantages. As such,

state prison systems routinely confront the challenging task of identifying and addressing

the needs incarcerated populations bring with them into a facility, and then developing pro-

gramming that can help formerly incarcerated people overcome the individual and com-

munity barriers they face upon returning home (e.g., Mears & Cochran, 2015). Research on

the effectiveness of correctional treatments suggests that some of the social disadvantages

individuals bring with them into prison may be especially salient not only for undermining

desistance during reentry but also for undermining the effectiveness of reentry-focused pro-

gramming (Harkins & Beech, 2007).

Below we discuss the theoretical possibility that disparities in academic achievement

among prison populations is one such disadvantage, but one that has received limited