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Year Published: 2013
An evaluation that matched participants in the Beyond the Bell program—a comprehensive afterschool program serving close to 180,000 students in more than 600 schools—with the Los Angeles Unified School District’s school population, comparing a variety of demographic characteristics, including gender, ethnicity, grade level, socioeconomic status, and English language learner status. Key findings indicate that participation in the Beyond the Bell program provided students more significant gains in standardized test scores in English language arts and math when compared to students who did not participate in the program.
Program Name: Beyond the Bell
Program Description: Beyond the Bell is a comprehensive afterschool program that serves 178,492 K-12 students daily, providing them with academic assistance, academic enrichment, social services, cultural and recreational programs, and more. Beyond the Bell programs are offered in more than 600 schools in the Los Angeles area.
Scope of the Evaluation: Local
Program Type: Afterschool, Before school
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Community Type: Urban
Grade level: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Demographics: Ninety percent of participants represented underserved ethnicities (80 percent were Hispanic and 10 percent were African-American) and more than 50 percent were English language learners. Additionally, 45 percent of youth served were girls.
Program Website: http://btb.lausd.net/
Evaluator: Evaluation, Research, & Cyber-Solutions.
Evaluation Methods: Academic achievement in English language arts and math was analyzed using California Standards Test (CST) results. In this quasi-experimental study, gains in CST scores from May 2012 to May 2013 of Beyond the Bell participants were compared to matched non-participating Los Angeles Unified School District students.
Evaluation Type: Quasi-experimental
Summary of Outcomes: The evaluation found that students participating in the program showed greater gains and higher scores on their California Standards Test (CST) scores and the California High School Exit Exams (CAHSEE) in English language arts (ELA) and math, compared to their non-participating peers. Beyond the Bell’s middle school participants showed the greatest improvement in their mean CST ELA scores, higher than that of high schoolers and elementary schoolers participating in the program. Improvements in CST math scores were most significant for high school participants.
Gains in CST math scores were even greater for high-frequency participants (attended more than 27.5 hours) than regular participants and non-participants. However, high-attenders did not have greater gains than regular participants on CST ELA scores.
Associated Evaluation: btb.lausd.net/Portals/0/PDFs/ELibrary/140214_Executive%20Summary-IIFinal.pdf
Date Added: September 27, 2016