THE IMPACT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR ROTC PROGRAM: DOES TREATMENT TIMING AND INTENSITY MATTER?

The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a high school program that combines classroom teaching with extracurricular activities. The program is located primarily in inner city schools and serves at-risk students. Its goals are multidimensional and include military preparation and improving academic achievement. Using High School and Beyond data we find that the program's effects depend on the timing and intensity of involvement. Test scores, graduation rates, and enlistments are higher for students who participate early in high school and for those who persist in the program. Conversely, we find few effects for students participating in the last two years of high school.