Found Effects

The WWC found Check & Connect to have positive effects on staying in school, potentially positive effects on progressing in school, and no discernable effects on school completion

Improvement index

For each outcome domain, the WWC computed an improvement index based on the average effect size (see the Technical Details of WWC-Conducted Computations). This improvement index represents the difference between the percentile rank of the average student in the intervention condition versus the percentile rank of the average student in the comparison condition. Unlike the rating of effectiveness, the improvement index is entirely based on the size of the effect, regardless of the statistical significance of the effect, the study design, or the type of analysis. The improvement index can take on values between -50 and +50, with positive numbers denoting favorable results. The average improvement index for staying in school is +25 percentile points, with a range of +18 to +31 percentile points across the two studies. The improvement index for progressing in school is +30 percentile points. The improvement index for completing school is +1 percentile point.

Summary

The WWC reviewed six studies on Check & Connect that were designed to assess the program’s effectiveness. Four of these studies passed WWC relevance screens—they focused on the program’s effectiveness among middle and high school students and examined outcomes from at least one of the three relevant domains: staying in school, progressing in school, and completing school. Of these four studies, one met WWC evidence standards and another met WWC evidence standards with reservations. These two studies found positive effects on staying in school and potentially positive effects on progressing in school. The studies found no discernible effects on completing school on time (within four years of entering ninth grade). The conclusions presented in this report may change as new research on Check & Connect emerges.