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External Evaluation of Delaware’s Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers: Final Report
Year Published: 2014
A statewide evaluation of Delaware’s 21st Century Learning Center (21st CCLC) programs during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years looked at changes in academic achievement in reading and math, and examined the overall quality of programs and activities offered to students. During both program years, the majority of regularly attending program participants maintained or improved their grades in both reading and math (2011-2012: 82.9 percent in reading and 81.6 percent in math; 2012-2013: 82.7 percent in reading and 83.5 percent in math). In addition, program and school staff unanimously agreed that the programs offer support for the growth of students, and almost all perceived their students as interested and engaged in program activities.
Program Name: Delaware’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Program Description:
Delaware’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program—federally-funded through the 21st CCLC Initiative—helps provide academic enrichment for students in high-poverty, low-performing schools. In 2012, 29 grantees operated 49 centers serving 2,953 students and in 2013, 27 grantees operated 37 centers serving 2,764 students.
Scope of the Evaluation: Statewide
Program Type: Afterschool
Location: Delaware
Grade level: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Demographics:
All schools served by Delaware’s 21st CCLC programs are Title I eligible, meaning more than 40 percent of students qualify for Free and Reduced Price Lunch. In 2011-2012, program records showed 78.7 percent of students qualified for Federal Free or Reduced Lunch, and in 2012-2013, 76 percent of students qualified for Federal Free or Reduced Lunch. Of all participating students in the 2011-2012 school year, 58.7 percent identified as African American, 22.8 percent as White, 14.8 percent as Hispanic, 0.7 identified as Asian or Pacific Islander, and 2.9 percent as “Ethnicity Unknown.” During the 2012-2013 school year, 59.1 percent of students identified as African American, 21.5 percent as Hispanic, 16.1 percent as White, 1.1 percent as Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.4 percent as American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 1.9 percent as “Ethnicity Unknown.”
Program Website: https://www.doe.k12.de.us/Page/1058
Evaluator: Schenck, A. RMC Research Corporation.
Evaluation Methods:
This evaluation uses data from Delaware’s Profile and Performance Information Collections System (PPICS), a database for state and local 21st CCLC programs to report performance data. The data used includes student records on student attendance and academic performance in math and reading. The evaluation also uses an online survey developed for local 21st CCLC program staff, staff from schools attended by students participating in their program, community and vendor representatives of their program’s partners, and parents of participating studentsto report on program quality. The survey was administered at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.
Evaluation Type: Non-experimental
Summary of Outcomes:
Delaware’s program evaluation shows the positive impact of 21st CCLC programs on student achievement in reading and math. PPICS collects student grade information to calculate the increase in reading and/or math grades for regularly attending participants (30-plus days) between the fall and spring of 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, not including those who received the highest possible grade in the fall. In the spring of 2012, the evaluation showed that 82.9 percent of students maintained or improved their grade in reading (out of which 53.3 percent showed an increase); and 81.6 percent maintained or improved their grade in math (out of which 49.9 percent showed an increase). In the spring of 2013, 82.7 percent of students maintained or improved their grade in reading (out of which 50.3 percent showed an increase) and 83.5 percent of students maintained or improved their grade in math (out of which 50.8 percent showed an increase).
Program and school staff are overwhelmingly positive about the quality of student activities offered in Delaware’s 21st CCLC programs. In response to an online survey that looked at different indicators of program quality, 98.1 percent of grant managers, center coordinators, teachers, and other program staff agreed that students are engaged, focused, and interested in program activities. All staff interviewed agreed that the program provides a variety of activities that support the physical, social, and cognitive growth of students. Additionally, approximately 9 in 10 program and school staff agree that the activities provided by programs are tied to the specific learning goals of schools (96.4 percent of program staff and 89.5 percent of school staff).
Date Added: November 20, 2018
