Computer-Based Approach to the Navy's Academic Remedial Training, Project PREST (Performance-Related Enabling Skills Training): A Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation

The Navy may be forced to use larger numbers of marginally qualified recruits in the future, because of manpower shortages. If this occurs, academic remedial training (ART) will have to be expanded, resulting in a greater number of instructors. Automated instruction is an attractive alternative, since its use can reduce the number of instructors needed. Therefore, to determine the economic and technological feasibility of automated instruction for the ART program, the Chief of Naval Education and Training contracted for the development and test of a computer-based approach, hereafter referred to as the Performance-related Enabling Skills Training (PREST) Program. The objectives of this effort were to compare the instructional effectiveness of the PREST configuration with that of the standard classroom approach, quantify the differences in effectiveness in terms of cost savings, chart the expected future costs of each alternative as a function of time, and predict the point at which the alternatives break even. Although PREST is not now as cost-effective as the classroom approach to ART, it may become cost-effective in the future. Its cost-effectiveness can be influenced by advances in computer technology (e.g., the continued development of stand-alone systems), the type of instructor used (i.e., military vs. civilian), and the relative costs (e.g., salaries, overhead costs) incurred for these instructors.