1. Reinventing After-School: A Review of New Research on After-School Interventions ————————— September 17, 2008 National Press Club

2. SEE Forums:  Steve Fleischman, SEE Forums Director & VP, American Institutes for Research (www.air.org).  Supported through a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (ies.ed.gov) of the U.S. Department of Education

3. Question 1: About how many students are currently being served by after- school programs? a) 3.5 million — Green b) 7 million — Blue c) 14 million — Yellow

4. Question 2: What percentage of after-school programs contain an academic component as a core element? a) less than 50% — Green b) about 75% — Blue c) more than 75% — Yellow

5. Panelists:  Fred Doolittle, Vice President and Director of the Policy Research and Evaluation Department, MDRC  Robert C. Granger, President, W.T. Grant Foundation  Doug Mesecar, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education

6. IES Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Background  Previous national study found limited impacts on elementary school students' academic achievement  IES funded the adaptation of curricula from school day for use in afterschool  Evaluation tested whether formal instruction for the first 45 minutes in the after-school schedule produced better academic outcomes than usual after-school services

7. IES Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Findings  Math  generally implemented as intended  positive and statistically significant impacts on student achievement  did not produce statistically significant impacts on student engagement, behavior, or homework completion  Reading  staff encountered some difficulties in implementation related to pacing of instruction  no statistically significant impact on student achievement  did not produce statistically significant impacts on student engagement, behavior, or homework completion

8. After-School Programs and Academics — Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research: Background  Background: Policymakers and practitioners want to know if after-school programs affect academic achievement.  Goal: Review strong evidence regarding the effects of after-school programs and examine the practices of effective programs  Method: Summarize the results from three rigorous reviews of over 90 evaluations of after-school programs

9. After-School Programs and Academics — Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research: Findings  On average after-school programs improve important academic outcomes like test scores and grades.  A subset of the evaluated programs that achieved outstanding results account for the overall positive picture.  The most effective programs had explicit goals, activities aligned with those goals, and got youth actively involved in their own learning.

10. Questions and Discussion What implications does the research presented today have on policy, practice, and future research?

11. Contact Us: SEE FORUMS American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Attn: Steve Fleischman sfleischman@air.org If you are a member of the media, please contact Becky Powell at rpowell@air.org or (202) 403-6843. info@seeforums.org www.seeforums.org