Afterschool Impacts Database
Evaluation 101
Learn more about the basics of evaluation, as well as how to find an evaluator for your program.
Afterschool Evaluation
View Afterschool Alliance resources, including a glossary of terms used in the database, evaluation-related blogs, webinars and more.
Additional Resources
Our list of evaluation resources from other organizations, including how to collect and work with data.
Afterschool Research
Want to find what we know about afterschool programs more broadly, not just individual programs? Head to our Afterschool Research page!
Intergenerational Poverty Interventions in Afterschool: Grant Program Evaluation
Year Published: 2018
A longitudinal analysis of students participating in Utah’s Intergenerational Poverty (IGP) afterschool programs between 2014 and 2017 found significant positive effects of IGP participation on students’ state standardized assessment scores in English language arts (ELA), math, and science. Greater gains were associated with regular IGP attendance. For example, researchers equated every 10 additional days participating in an IGP afterschool program with a .3 increase in their ELA score. Additionally, researchers found that on average, attending an IGP afterschool program for three years “at least tripled the gains” in assessment scores compared to attending the program for one year.
Program Name: Intergenerational Poverty afterschool programs
Program Description:
In 2014, the Utah State Legislature passed Senate Bill 43, which appropriated annual funding for an Intergenerational Poverty (IGP) competitive grant program that would provide academic support and enrichment outside the school day for students and families impacted by intergenerational poverty. The afterschool programs offered interventions in math, science, and reading for students, as well as developmental enrichment and wrap-around support for families of participating students.
Scope of the Evaluation: Statewide
Program Type: Afterschool
Location: Utah
Community Type: Rural, Urban, Suburban
Grade level: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Demographics:
The demographics are of students who participated in the Intergenerational Poverty afterschool program for at least one year and who had available education data. Participants were 47 percent Hispanic/Latino, 35 percent White, 5 percent American Indian/Alaska Native, 4 percent Asian, 3 percent African American, and 5 percent were designated as other. Half of participants (50 percent) identified as female.
Evaluator: Ni, Y., Eddings, S. K., Shooter, W., Yan, R., & Nguyen, H., Utah Education Policy Center, The University of Utah
Evaluation Methods:
Evaluators used Intergenerational Poverty (IGP) afterschool program participation data, demographic characteristics, and Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence (SAGE) scores in English language arts, math, and science. To conduct longitudinal analyses, evaluators included any students who were IGP participants for at least one year, in addition to a baseline year and had available education data from USBE. They used fixed effects regression models to examine the effects of multiple years of program participation on academic achievement.
Evaluation Type: Quasi-experimental
Summary of Outcomes:
A longitudinal analysis of students participating in Utah’s Intergenerational Poverty (IGP) afterschool programs between 2014 and 2017 found significant positive effects of IGP participation on students’ Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence (SAGE) scores – Utah’s state standardized assessment scores – in English language arts (ELA), math, and science. Greater gains were associated with regular IGP attendance.
Overall, the evaluation found that students participating in IGP afterschool programs saw gains in their SAGE ELA, math, and science scores. Program participation was associated with a 5.7-point increase in ELA, a 3.2-point increase in math, and a 2.3-point increase in science SAGE scores.
The higher the level of participation, researchers found the greater the gains in test scores. Regarding ELA scores, students who attended the program for two years scored 20.2 points higher, but students attending for three years scored 30.5 points higher on their SAGE ELA. In math, students attending the program for two years scored 20 points higher, but students attending for three years scored 24 points higher. And in science, while students attending the program for two years scored 7.6 points higher, students attending for three years scored 15.1 points higher. Researchers reported that on average, attending an IGP afterschool program for three years “at least tripled the gains” in assessment scores compared to attending the program for one year.
