The Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Findings After the First Year of Implementation

The report, Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs, is the first of two reports and presents implementation and impact findings after one year of program operation. This study tests whether interventions of structured approaches to academic instruction in after-school programs (one for reading and one for math) produce better academic outcomes than regular after-school services that consist primarily of help with homework or locally assembled materials that do not follow a structured curriculum. Compared to students attending regular after-school program activities, the students selected for the after-school math program received, on average, an additional 49 hours of instruction; students selected for the reading program received 48 hours of additional instruction, on average. The evaluation found a statistically significant difference in student achievement between students in the math after-school program and those in the regular after-school activities. In study sites implementing the reading program, there was no statistically significant difference in reading achievement between students in the reading after-school program and those in the regular after-school activities.

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