Age range

Website: www.ed.gov/programs/

21stcclc/index.html

Mission/Goals: "The focus of this program, reauthorized under Title IV, Part B, of the No Child Left Behind Act, is to provide expanded academic enrichment opportunities for children attending low performing schools."

Sources: www.ed.gov/programs/

21stcclc/index.html

Notes: Services include: "Tutorial services and academic enrichment activities...youth development activities, drug and violence prevention programs, technology education programs, art, music and recreation programs, counseling and character education to enhance the academic component of the program."

Type of Evaluation: Experimental evaluation for elementary study; Quasi-experimental evaluation for middle school students.

Objective: This evaluation focused on student outcomes in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

Impact/Outcome Findings:

Elementary School Program Impacts: Attendance at programs was moderate. Students in the program were more likely to be with adults who were not their parents after school than controls. Students attending after-school programs scored no better on reading tests than their peers in the control group; nor did their grades in English, mathematics, science, and social studies increase. Roughly 1.5 percent of participants compared with 4.5 percent of nonparticipants, reported feeling "not at all safe" after school. Programs had few impacts on developmental outcomes, and students in programs were no less likely than students in the control group to be suspended, to receive detention, or to misbehave.

Middle School Program Outcomes: The program group was less likely to be with siblings than the comparison group, and there were no differences in self-care. There were few differences between the program and comparison groups on academic outcomes. The program group had higher grades in social studies, however other outcomes did not differ between groups. There were no differences in feelings of safety after school. The program group was more likely than the comparison group to expect to graduate from college. There were mixed findings on measures of behavior.