Aiming Higher: Assessing Higher Achievement's Out-of-School Expansion Efforts
Garcia, Ivonne, Grossman, Jean Baldwin, Herrera, Carla, Strassberger, Marissa, Dixon, Michelle, Linden, Leigh (2020). MDRC. . Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606086
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examining669Students, grades5-7
Department-funded evaluation
Review Details
Reviewed: April 2023
- Department-funded evaluation (findings for Higher Achievement)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reading achievement |
Higher Achievement vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
0.00 |
-0.05 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
English course grade |
Higher Achievement vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.55 |
2.39 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
State math assessment |
Higher Achievement vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
-0.05 |
-0.11 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Math course grade |
Higher Achievement vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.49 |
2.31 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Science course grade |
Higher Achievement vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.63 |
2.48 |
Yes |
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|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Middle school grade point average (GPA) |
Higher Achievement vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.58 |
2.43 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Social studies course grade |
Higher Achievement vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.65 |
2.55 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Male: 44%
Other or unknown: 56% -
Urban
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District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia
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Race Black 82% Other or unknown 15% White 3% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 14% Not Hispanic or Latino 86% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 89% Other or unknown 11%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in Higher Achievement's achievement centers. These centers are located in middle schools. Higher Achievement first took place in Washington, DC and Alexandria, Virginia. Starting in 2009, the program began expanding to Baltimore (2009), Richmond (2011), and Pittsburgh (2011).
Study sample
The sample was mostly Black (nearly 82%) and Latino (close to 14%) and 3% White. Nearly 90% of the analytic sample was eligible for free and reduced-price lunch.
Intervention Group
Higher Achievement, an intensive summer and after-school program, offers participants more than 500 hours of academic enrichment activities a year to help them meet the high academic standards expected of college-bound students. Known as “scholars,” Higher Achievement students enter the program during the summer before 5th or 6th grade and commit to attending through 8th grade. The summer program consists of six weeks of morning classes in English Language Arts (ELA), math, and other subjects, followed by enrichment activities in the afternoon. During the school year, in addition to the program’s regular study hall and enrichment activities, a cadre of mostly young professionals volunteer one day a week, delivering 75-minute ELA or math lessons to small groups of scholars. The program aims to improve students' test scores and grades through academic enrichment and relationships with staff and mentors.
Comparison Group
The comparison was business as usual. Students in the control group were likely exposed to instruction and support services as they had been in the past and participated in their typical after-school experiences.
Support for implementation
A full-time director and assistant director at each Achievement Center oversaw all aspects of the centers and relationships with families as well as school staff in the host middle schools. Higher Achievement instructors were also provided detailed lesson plans with scripted questions and instructions.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
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Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).