Youth Development: OST, Mentoring, & Education Equity

Out-of-School-Time Systematic Evidence Review
Funder: The Wallace Foundation
Project Time Period: 2017-2019

Project Category: Education & STEAM/Out-of-School-Time/ESSA/Systematic Review

About the Systematic Review: MAI, in partnership with Research for Action (RFA), has been commissioned by the Wallace Foundation to summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of out-of-school time programs within the context of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

The Work: This systematic review summarizes virtually all available evidence on the effectiveness of specific afterschool programs, based on a comprehensive literature search and review of studies published in 2000 or later. The review is motivated, in part, by a growing emphasis on using rigorous assessment of program impacts to inform decision-making in education and youth development programs. Consistent with this emphasis, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, encourages—and in some cases requires—states and districts to use approaches backed by rigorous research showing improved outcomes. The major federal funding source for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, is authorized under ESSA. Other titles and programs in the law, including Title I and federal discretionary grant programs, also can be used to support afterschool activities.

What We Learned: Download the "Afterschool Programs: A Review of Evidence Under the Every Student Succeeds Act" report here.