TV411 Video and In Print
The Institute for Social Research (ISR) of the University of Michigan has been our primary outside evaluator since we began producing TV411. ISR conducted a series of five studies on TV411 use by adult learners in different settings with varying levels of academic support. The research concluded the following:

• Participants experienced significant changes in their educational aspirations.
• Participants increased their confidence about their ability to do activities modeled in the TV411 materials.
• Participants showed an increased likelihood that they would engage in the reading, writing, and math activities and behaviors presented in the TV411 materials.
• Participants learned some of the specific skills and knowledge taught in TV411, though this varied with prior skill levels.
• Participants took risks and tried literacy and numeracy activities they had not done before.

Although the involvement of a teacher or tutor enhanced the effectiveness of TV411, these improvements also held true for participants who used TV411 materials at home on their own, demonstrating TV411's value as a distance-learning tool.

TV411 Financial Literacy Kit
Owen Consulting, a New York-based company, conducted a study of the TV411 Financial Literacy Kit, our multimedia instructional package developed to help pre-GED adult learners build practical skills related to financial management. The two-group, pre- and post-test design demonstrated the following outcomes:

• Instruction using kit materials is effective at increasing adult learners’ knowledge of financial topics.
• Learners achieved average scores of 69% of items correct on the post-test, with an average gain of 13% from pre- to post-test.
• Learners perceived the materials to be effective and relevant to their lives and reported increased comfort levels with the topics and new ideas about how they would approach the issues in the future.

TV411 Health Smarts Kit
New York-based Owen Consulting conducted a two-group, pre- and post-test study of the TV411 Health Smarts Kit, our multimedia instructional package developed to help pre-GED adult learners build practical skills related to health management. The study demonstrated the following outcomes:

• Instruction using the kit materials increased learners’ knowledge of key health concepts.
• Learners achieved average scores of 74% of items correct on the post-test, with an average gain of 13% from pre- to post-test.
• Learners perceived the materials to be effective and relevant to their lives, and reported increased comfort levels with the topics and new ideas about how they would approach the issues in the future.

A health literacy program using materials taken from the TV411 Health Smarts Kit was conducted in 2006 at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, with a grant from the United Hospital Fund. ALMA trained hospital volunteers of varying backgrounds to use ALMA materials to teach health literacy at a family clinic in East New York. The hospital’s initial data reflects that almost 1,400 patients have been taught to date. The project is ongoing and has expanded to the hospital’s pediatric clinic.

TV411 Health Smarts While You Wait
Funded by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, the TV411 Health Smarts While You Wait project placed ALMA-trained college and graduate-level students of health professions in non-acute waiting rooms at five New York City hospitals to teach health literacy to adults. Medical and Health Research Associates (MHRA) for New York City evaluated the project to determine how it worked, who it served, and if the easily customized, one-on-one intervention increased participants’ understanding of taking medicine safely, managing multiple medications, and/or using a medical journal. Here are a few key findings from the MHRA report:

• In less than six months, more than 1,250 adults received waiting-room instruction at a select test location.
• At the test location, significantly more participants knew the meaning of the word “contraindicated” after participating in the Unit 2 intervention. The proportion increased from 25% to 75%.
• More participants at the test location were able to identify the active ingredient in a sample medication after the Unit 1 intervention, increasing from 61% to 78%.
• After Unit 1 intervention, all participants at the test location were able to identify the side effects of a sample medication (increased from 89%) and were able to measure the correct dose of a sample medication (increased from 94%), but these differences were not statistically significant.

Financial Education: Principles and Practices
ALMA developed a financial management curriculum for the U.S. Department of Justice designed to fulfill the educational requirement for those individuals who file for bankruptcy under the recently enacted Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. ABT Associates has been contracted by the Department of Justice to evaluate the curriculum with 2,400 participants.