Concrete_21st Century Grant_Year 3_Evaluation2021

1 day of the program in the Spring or Fall session. Of the total counted, 32% of
elementary students earned 21 st Century status and 40% of secondary students earned 21 st
Century status.
Percentage of 21st Century Students
Elementary
Secondary
57%
61%
33%
31% 32%
40%
Figure 3
EQ5A. To what extent does the program contribute to improved math and reading
scores? Due to the suspension of state standardized tests and distance learning for most
of the 2020-2021 school year, researchers were unable to collect state assessment scores.
This research question will be revisited once assessments resume, hopefully in 2022.
Youth Program Quality Assessment
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
To fulfill grant requirements, researchers used the SA-PQA (School-Aged Program
Quality Assessment) and YPQA (Youth Program Quality Assessment) tools to evaluate
the quality of youth experiences in the program. These assessments measure four main
domains of programming, including safe environment, supportive environment,
interaction, and engagement. Youth-centered policies and practices, high expectations for
youth and staff, and access were other areas incorporated in the tool. The YPQA was
developed by the Weikart Center, and according to their website (2014), “each domain
contains items that focus on specific elements of best practice.” The findings provide
opportunities for staff members to reflect on what they are doing well, to determine ways
they can improve the program, and “to build professional competencies.”
Figure 4 and displays the overall domain scores for the self-assessments conducted at
Concrete High School during Year 1 (2018-2019) and Year 2 (2019-2020). Programs did
not participate in the YPQ assessments during Year 3, but will resume in Year 4.
Self-assessments are conducted internally by trained program staff. The scores reflect
THE BERC GROUP
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