Research

The WWC reviewed five studies of the effectiveness of Project GRAD. Three studies were included within one research report (Snipes, Holton, Doolittle, & Sztejnberg, 2006). Among the three studies included in the Snipes et al. (2006) report, the one conducted in Houston, Texas, met WWC evidence standards with reservations. The other two studies—which were conducted in Atlanta, Georgia, and Columbus, Ohio—did not meet WWC evidence screens. The remaining two studies of Project GRAD that were not part of the Snipes et al. (2006) report also did not meet WWC evidence screens.

The Houston study included in the Snipes et al. (2006) report focused on three Houston high schools that implemented Project GRAD from 1998 to 2004. These three schools were matched to 10 high schools in the district that did not implement Project GRAD but had similar performance on achievement tests and similar percentages of students in key demographic groups. To estimate the effect of the program, the researchers first compared the average outcomes of ninth graders who entered Project GRAD high schools in the years immediately after the program was implemented with those of ninth graders from these schools in the years just before program implementation; the baseline period is defined as the three school years prior to the first year of program implementation. The study made similar calculations for the comparison schools. Their estimates of the effect of the program represent the difference between these pre- and post-implementation comparisons in Project GRAD high schools and the comparison schools. The evaluation focused on the effects on students in Project GRAD high schools; it did not examine Project GRAD’s effects on elementary and middle school students.

Extent of evidence

The WWC categorizes the extent of evidence in each domain as small or medium to large (see the What Works Clearinghouse Extent of Evidence Categorization Scheme). The extent of evidence takes into account the number of studies and total sample size across the studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations. ⁴

The WWC considers the extent of evidence for Project GRAD to be small for progressing in school and for completing school. No studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations addressed staying in school.