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A multi-year evaluation of New York City’s Out-of-School Time (OST) initiative, which was launched in 2005 to provide free, quality afterschool and summer learning programs to New York City students and served 181,000 children between 2005 and 2008. The evaluation found that participants in the program reported high levels of academic motivation and moderate levels of academic benefits. Additional findings include that students in the program reported that they felt that they belonged and were safe in the program, and among parents surveyed, 74 percent agreed that the program made it easier for them to keep their jobs and 73 percent agreed that they missed less work than they had previously because their children attended the OST program.
This Public/Private Ventures evaluation studied the Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) project, an eight-year, $58 million afterschool initiative in cities across California designed by the James Irvine Foundation aimed at providing academic enrichment and support to primarily elementary school students in the lowest performing schools, who are often living in low-income families. The evaluation found that students participating in the CORAL program, a majority of whom were English language learners and reading below grade level, saw literacy-related gains. CORAL participants who were English language learners and those who were furthest behind in reading experienced greater gains in their reading performance while in the program compared to their peers who entered the program reading at grade level or who were English proficient. Children who began the CORAL program two or more grade levels behind in reading, based on the individualized reading assessments, gained just as much as their higher-achieving counterparts over the same period of time. The study also found that CORAL students reported having a positive experience in the program. Close to 90 percent of CORAL students reported that they felt safe in the program, and 71 percent agreed that they felt that they belonged in the program. Parents of students in the program also reported a positive experience for their children, with more than 90 percent of parents reporting that the program helped their child to do better in school.
This Chapin Hall study examined Chicago’s After School Matters (ASM) program, which offers paid internships in the arts, technology, sports, and communications to high school students in some of the city’s most underserved schools. The study found positive impacts on students participating in the program when looking at academic performance and school day attendance. Compared with non-participants from the same high schools, ASM participants were more likely to graduate high school and less likely to miss school, fail courses, or dropout. The study also found that the higher the participation in the afterschool program, the greater the positive impact on students’ graduation rates, school day attendance, and course completion.
An evaluation of high-quality afterschool programs serving low-income elementary and middle school students across diverse community types in eight states. Data collected through standardized test scores, as well as teacher and student surveys indicates regular participation in high-quality afterschool programs provide low-income youth significant gains in math test scores and work habits and reductions in behavioral problems.
This study of 1,755 working parents of school-age children at one of three Fortune 100 companies focused on assessing parental stress. Based on parents surveyed, the study estimates that approximately 50 million parents are potentially over-stressed by parental concern about afterschool time (PCAST)—which is when parents are worried about what their children are doing during the hours after school—and are likely to bring their concerns to the office. The study found that parental worries about what their children are doing after school makes mothers and fathers less productive at work and contributes to employee stress, costing businesses between $50 billion and $300 billion annually in lost productivity.
A meta-analysis of 35 evaluations examining the academic impact of out-of-school time (OST) programs, specifically programs serving students at risk for school failure, a population that includes students who were not performing well academically in school or students who had characteristics associated with dropping out of school. The meta-analysis found that programs have a statistically significant positive impact on both the reading and math achievement of students participating in the program.
An analysis of the effects of the Young Scholars Program on students in schools throughout North Carolina. Academic and attendance data collected on Young Scholars over the course of five years shows that participation in the program led to gains in math and reading proficiency, improved grade promotion, increased school day attendance, and increased parent involvement.
This longitudinal study examined the role that afterschool program participation plays in the development of childhood obesity and peer acceptance among low-income and minority children. The study assessed three unnamed northeastern, urban, public schools and found that the prevalence of obesity was significantly lower for afterschool participants compared to nonparticipants (21 percent vs. 33 percent) controlling for baseline obesity, poverty status, and race and ethnicity. The study also found that students participating in the afterschool programs showed significant increases in peer acceptance during their time in the program.
This evaluation studied third graders, a majority of whom were children of color, at 18 schools in Georgia participating in the Medical College of Georgia FitKid Project, an afterschool program that used a fitness curriculum developed by the Medical College of Georgia to reduce childhood obesity. Researchers concluded that children who attended 40 percent or more of the afterschool sessions showed improvement in body fat percentage, bone mass density, and cardiovascular fitness. Students with higher levels of program attendance saw even greater health gains, where students’ cardiovascular fitness and bone mass density increased and body fat decreased as program attendance increased.
A report by The National Center for Schools and Communities at Fordham University presenting the results of seven years of evaluation for the YMCA of Greater New York’s Virtual Y afterschool program—an afterschool program that served elementary school students five days a week between 3 and 6 p.m. Teachers reported significant improvements in classroom behavior for Virtual Y participants, including improvement in task motivation, frustration tolerance, learning skills, acting out, peer social skills, assertive social skills, and shyness and anxiety. The average school day attendance of 3rd and 4th grade Virtual Y participants also exceeded the average attendance of a comparison group. Additionally, Virtual Y participants outperformed a comparison group in post-program math scores.
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The Afterschool Impacts Database is a project of the Afterschool Alliance.
The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs.
Afterschool Impacts Database