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After school and supplementary education programs have become key components in efforts to increase student academic achievement in low-performing schools. This annotated list of articles and documents presents a selection of current research on the effectiveness of these programs, their design, implementation, availability, and use. Print copies of the journal articles annotated below may be found in most college and university libraries and in large (or research) public libraries. Electronic access to the full texts of journal articles may also be available through these libraries. The web sites for the journals are offered whenever possible to provide access to tables of content and abstracts. Reports and studies are listed with their full-text web addresses.
Attrition from After School Programs: Characteristics of Student Who Drop Out
Stephanie A. Weisman and Denise C. Gottfredson
Prevention Science, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 2001
This article presents findings of a study of high-risk student retention
in after school programs. By comparing students who remained in a sample
of Maryland after-school programs to students who withdrew prior to the
end of the school year, this study provides evidence that after-school
programs are serving a lower-risk population than intended.
Culturally-Based After-School Arts Programming for Low-Income Urban
Children: Adaptive and Preventive Efforts
Michael J. Mason and Susan Chuang
The Journal of Primary Prevention, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2001
This article evaluates the preventive effect of an after-school
culturally-based arts program with low-income urban children. Main
findings indicate that the participating children experienced an
increase in self-esteem, social skills, and in leadership competencies
as compared to the comparison group.
A Different Kind of Child Development Institution: The History of
After-School Programs for Low-Income Children
Robert Halpern
Teachers College Record, Vol. 104, No. 2, March 2002
This article examines the historical development of after-school
programs serving low-income children. In the final section, the article
discusses the current pressures facing after-school programs and
suggests an appropriate set of purposes and expectations for the future.
Full text available with free registration.
Evaluations of After-School Programs: A Meta-Evaluation of Methodologies
and Narrative Synthesis of Findings
Catherine Scott-Little, Mary Sue Hamann, and Stephen G. Jurs
American Journal of Evaluation, Vol. 23, No. 4, 2002
This article presents a meta-analysis of methodologies used to evaluate
after school programs and attempted a synthesis of evaluation findings.
Results show that evaluation reports demonstrate moderate compliance
with the Program Evaluation Standards of the Joint Committee on
Standards for Educational Evaluation but evidence did not allow for
meta-analysis of program effects, although after-school programs may
have positive effects on participants.
Effectiveness of a "Colonia" Educational Intervention
Vern Vincent and Robert Guinn
Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 23, No. 2, May 2001
In Las Milpas, a south Texas colonia, 39 children aged 7-12 participated
for at least 6 months in an after-school health promotion program that
included activities related to communication skills, behavior
self-management, and cultural appreciation. Compared to a
non-participant control group, participating children had higher
self-esteem and more internal health-related locus of control.
After-School Pursuits: An Examination of Outcomes in the San Francisco
Beacon Initiative
Public/Private Ventures, 2004
The Stanford University School of Education Research Team, along with
the authors, evaluated the effectiveness of the San Francisco Beacon
Initiative, a citywide after school program that centers its activities
in five areas: education, career development, arts and recreation,
leadership, and health. The report examines both the program's impacts
on young people and program implementation and effectiveness.
Building and Sustaining Citywide Afterschool Initiatives: Experiences of
the Cross-Cities Network Citywide Afterschool Initiatives
National Institute on Out-of-School Time, 2002
This paper highlights the experiences of several citywide after school
initiatives from the Cross-Cities Network, describing activities and
strategies that contributed to building operational and sustainable
citywide delivery of out-of-school time programs. The paper presents
evidence of success and notes lessons learned, identifying key elements
for building high quality citywide initiatives.
Ending Social Promotion: Results from Summer Bridge
Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2003
In the 1996-1997 school year, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS),
Illinois, began a national trend when it included a required summer
program, Summer Bridge, as a central component of its efforts to end
social promotion. More than 21,000 students in grades 3, 6, and 8, the
promotional gate grades, have attended Summer Bridge each year. A
rigorous and careful evaluation was conducted of the Summer Bridge
Program using a diverse data set that included the analysis of the
achievement of all Summer Bridge participants, surveys and interviews of
participating teachers and students, and in-depth classroom
observations.
Experience Corps in Urban Elementary Schools: A Survey of Principals
Policy Studies Associates, 2004
This paper reports the survey findings of elementary school principals
on their assessment of Experience Corps, a volunteer organization that
draws on older adults to perform public and community service. Since
1995, Experience Corps members have worked as tutors and mentors in
urban elementary schools.
The Growth in After-School Programs and Their Impact
Brookings Institution, 2003
This paper reviews literature on the growth in after-school programs,
reasons for their growth, and what these programs hope to accomplish. It
also addresses what is known about what works, program costs, and
implications for policy. It analyzes the difference between those who
believe that after-school programs should focus on skill development by
providing more time on task and those who stress the need to provide an
atmosphere for growth and adult contact for children who are home alone.
How Afterschool Programs Can Most Effectively Promote Positive Youth
Development as a Support to Academic Achievement: A Report Commissioned
by the Boston After-School for All Partnership
National Institute on Out-of-School Time, 2003
This report investigates how after-school programs in Boston most
effectively promote positive youth development. The positive youth
development approach addresses the broader developmental needs of youth,
in contrast to deficit-based models that focus solely on youth problems.
The report explores how, by using this approach, quality after-school
programs can incorporate the supports and opportunities necessary for
young people to succeed both developmentally and academically.
The Impact of After-School Program: Interpreting the Results of Four
Recent Evaluations
William T. Grant Foundation, 2004
After school programs and their effectiveness in raising student
academic achievement have been a key concern of research in the two past
years. This report presents an in-depth analysis of four major
evaluations: 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Mathematica Policy
Research and Decision Information Resources), The After-School
Corporation (Policy Studies Associates), Extended-Service Schools
Initiative (Public/Private Ventures and MDRC), and San Francisco Beacons
Initiative (Public/Private Ventures).
Increasing Bureaucracy or Increasing Opportunities? School District
Experience with Supplemental Education Services
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, 2004
In one of a series of reports on the impact of the No Child Left Behind
Act on minority children, researchers at Harvard University studied the
implementation of supplemental educational services, defined as
additional instruction designed to help increase the academic
performance of students in low-performing schools, in eleven urban
school districts. The report examines how widely used supplemental
educational services are among eligible students and what it costs
school districts to implement them.
It's About Time: A Look at Out-of-School Time for Urban Teens
National Institute on Out-of-School Time, 2004
This evaluation explores the challenges involved in creating and
sustaining after school programs that engage the interest and
participation of high school age youth. The report discusses effective
program characteristics and strategies, along with steps for cities and
organizations to build their capacity to meet the needs of teens during
the out-of-school time hours.
Multiple Choices After School: Findings from the Service Schools
Initiative
Public/Private Ventures and Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation,
2002
This study is a 4-year evaluation of the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds'
Extended-Service Schools initiative, which supported the creation of 60
after school programs in 20 low-income communities nationwide. Each
community adapted one of four nationally recognized models that had been
successfully developed and implemented in other cities.
A Review of Out-of-School Time Program Quasi-Experimental and
Experimental Evaluation Results
Harvard Family Research Project, 2003
As the amount of resources allocated to out-of-school (OST) programming
and policymakers' demands for research-based results increase, there is
increasing interest in rigorous research designs to examine OST program
outcomes. This issue of "Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshots" reviews 27 quasi-experimental and experimental OST evaluations and
provides an overview of the impact of OST programs on an array of
academic, prevention, and youth development outcomes.
What Ninth-Grade Students in the Chicago Public Schools Do in Their
Out-of-School Time: Preliminary Results
*Free registration required to download full text
Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2004
In this study of the after-school activities of Chicago Public School
ninth-grade students, researchers sent questionnaires to 33,000
students, 15,000 of whom responded. Questions targeted the kinds of
structured activities ninth-graders participate in after school, how
long they spend in these activities, where they spend after-school time
and with whom, and why they participate in structured activities.
When Schools Stay Open Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st Century
Community Learning Centers Program
Mathematica Policy Research, 2003
First authorized in 1994, the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers
program supports after-school programs in approximately 7,500 rural and
inner-city public schools. A distinguishing characteristic of
21st-Century programs is the inclusion of academic activities. This
report presents the first-year findings from an evaluation of the
program. Elementary school students were randomly assigned to treatment
and control groups. The middle school sample was comprised of a
nationally representative sampling of after-school programs and
participants and a matched comparison group.
Why, When, and How To Use Evaluation: Experts Speak Out
Harvard Family Research Project, 2003
Noting that the disappointing findings of the first-year evaluation of
the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers after-school program were
offered as a rationale for a requested decrease in funding in President
Bush's fiscal year 2004 education budget, this report compiles expert
commentary on methodological issues in that evaluation and discusses the
implications of the findings for current policy as well as for future
evaluation design, implementation, and use.
The work of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education is supported by Teachers College, government agencies, and private foundations. The staff consists of researchers and educators from many disciplines and fields.
Institute for Urban and Minority Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
Theresa Towers - 8th Floor
2090 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.
New York, NY 10027
Telephone: (212)678-3780
Fax: (212)678-4137
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