Department of Education Student Mentoring Program

OVERVIEW

The Department of Education Student Mentoring Program is a federal grant program that supplies funding to schools and community and faith-based organizations to establish school-based mentoring programs that aims to improve academic achievement and engagement, interpersonal relationships and personal responsibility and high-risk or delinquent behavior. An evaluation of the program found that there were no impacts overall. However, subgroup analyses revealed a positive impact for girls on scholastic efficacy and school bonding and a positive impact for boys on future orientation. The program was also found to decrease truancy for students under twelve. There was a negative impact on prosocial behavior for boys.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Children in grades 4 through 8

 

The Department of Education Student Mentoring Program is a federal grant program that supplies funding to schools and community and faith-based organizations to establish school-based mentoring programs. The grant program specifically supports mentoring programs that are designed to improve interpersonal relationships, increase personal responsibility and community involvement, deter substance use and delinquency, decrease dropout rates, and increase academic achievement.

 

EVALUATION OF PROGRAM

Evaluated population: The sample included 2,573 students from 32 varied grantee programs during the 2005-06 or 2006-07 school year. The average age of participants was 11 years. The sample was 53 percent female and 47 percent male. Forty-one percent of the participants were Black or African-American, and 31 percent were Hispanic. Sixty percent of the sample was at risk academically, and 25 percent were at risk for delinquency.

 

Approach: Students were randomly assigned to receive mentoring services or to the control condition. Students in the control condition were allowed to receive mentoring services from other organizations. Data were collected at the beginning and end of the school year on the domains of academic achievement and engagement, interpersonal relationships and personal responsibility, and high-risk or delinquent behavior. Students only received mentoring for five to six months.

 

Results: Among students in the treatment group, 85 percent reported receiving mentoring in the past year, compared with 35 percent of the control group who received mentoring in the community. After accounting for multiple comparisons, there was no impact on any of the outcome domains. Subgroup analysis by gender revealed that the program increased scholastic efficacy and school bonding for girls, and it increased future orientation for boys. However, it decreased prosocial behavior for boys. Subgroup analysis also found that the program decreased truancy for students under twelve.

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

References

Bernstein, L., Rappaport, C.D., Olsho, L., Hunt, D., Levin, M., Dyous, C., Klausner, M., McGarry, N., Luck, R., Rhodes, W., & Rice, J. (2009). Impact evaluation of the U.S. Department of Education’s student mentoring program. (NCEE 2009-4048). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.  

 

KEYWORDS: Children (3-11), Adolescents (12-17), Elementary, Middle School, Males and Females (Co-ed), High-Risk, School-based, Mentoring, Attendance, Reading/Literacy, Mathematics, Academic Achievement/Grades, Academic Motivation/Self-Concept/Expectations/Engagement, Other Relationships, Delinquency.

 

Program information last updated on 1/12/11.

 

 

		© Child Trends 2003