Deeper_Dive_into_Afterschool

Academic PerformanceIn addition to supporting a child’s development and sense of worth, building social skills, andigniting his or her passion for learning, afterschool programs have the ability to positivelyimpact a child’s academic performance. Both the CASEL meta-analysis and the “Study ofPromising After-School Programs” discussed above also find that students participating inquality afterschool programs show gains in their school-day performance. CASEL’s metaanalysisfinds that youth attending afterschool programs adhering to the practice of SAFE(Sequenced, Active, Focused and Explicit) ii improved their school grades and their test scores, 26while the “Study of Promising After-School Programs” found that students participating inquality afterschool programs saw gains in their math test scores compared to non-participatingyouth. 27 An experimental design evaluation by David Shernoff that looked at middle schoolstudents in eight afterschool programs in three Midwestern states found that studentsattending the afterschool programs had higher English grades than their peers who didn’tparticipate in an afterschool program. 28 There are a number of additional evaluations in thefield that also demonstrate the ability of afterschool programs to support the learning thattakes place during the school day and help boost students’ academic performance andlikelihood of graduating from high school—especially students who have fallen behind in schooland need the extra support and mentoring.Higher Achievement—Washington, D.C.: An evaluationof Higher Achievement in Washington, D.C.—a longtermand academically focused afterschool programaimed at middle schoolers—found that after two yearsin the program, students showed significant academicgains. Participants saw much greater improvements intheir reading and problem-solving scores than studentsnot participating in the program. 29 A follow-upevaluation of the program found that although HigherAchievement youth and their non-participating peersperformed similarly after one year, after two years,Higher Achievement youth performed better onstandardized test scores in math problem-solving andreading comprehension. 30Higher Achievement (HA)Evaluator: Public/Private VenturesEvaluation Design: ExperimentalAcademic Findings:- HA students improved their readingscores (p = .05)- HA students saw greater gains on theirproblem-solving scores (p = .05)Evaluator: Public/Private Ventures &University of Texas at AustinEvaluation Design: ExperimentalAcademic Findings:- HA students performed better on theirreading comprehension standardizedtest scores (p < .1)- HA students performed better on theirmath problem-solving standardizedtest scores (p < .05)ii SAFE is discussed in further detail in Section II.11