Issues: P-12 Education

After-School/Out-of-School Time

MDRC is evaluating an after-school program that provides math and reading instruction based on materials used during the regular school day; it has also examined after-school programs that offered homework help, enrichment and artistic activities, and sports.

The Latest
Report

The Impact of an Intensive Year-Round Middle School Program on College Attendance

Higher Achievement, which serves fifth- through eighth-graders, is an effective after-school and summer program that improved middle school students’ math and reading test scores and the academic quality of many students’ high schools. These short-term gains did not translate into impacts on the types of colleges that students attended.

Overview »
Full
Report

Aiming Higher

The intensive program for middle school students was successfully replicated in three new cities, significantly improving grades after two years. The findings suggest that Higher Achievement could be a model nationwide to help close the learning gap between children born into poverty and their middle-class peers.

Overview »
Full
Key Documents
Report

Multiple Choices After School

Findings from the Extended-Service Schools Initiative

Launched in 1997, the Extended-Service Schools (ESS) Initiative helped establish after-school programs in 17 communities across the country, each of which adapted one of four program models to local circumstances and needs.

Read More »
Report

The Role of Risk

Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles

This report, a Public/Private Ventures project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, presents results from the nation’s first large-scale study to examine how the levels and sources of risk youth face may influence their mentoring relationships and the benefits they derive from participating in mentoring programs.

Read More »
Report

Staying On Track: Testing Higher Achievement’s Long-Term Impact on Academic Outcomes and High School Choice

This report, a Public/Private Ventures project distributed by MDRC, summarizes findings from a four-year random assignment study of an out-of-school-time program for middle-schoolers. Students in the program did better on standardized tests and were more likely to attend private high schools.

Read More »