Measuring Self-Regulation Skills in Evaluations of Employment Programs for Low-Income Populations: Challenges and Recommendations

Summary

Four challenges arise when measuring self-regulation skills in evaluations of employment programs for low-income populations. First, measures of self-regulation skills can reflect aspects of a person's situation (for example, his or her background or financial resources) in addition to his or her skills. Second, most existing measures were developed for purposes other than program evaluation. Third, most existing measures were not designed for use with low-income populations. Fourth, some measures take a long time to administer or require special technology.