Outcomes

Evaluations Backgrounder: A Summary of Formal Evaluations of Afterschool Programs' Impact on Academics, Behavior, Safety and Family Life
A steady stream of afterschool evaluations are showing important gains for children, not only in terms of academic achievement but also in terms of safety, discipline, attendance and avoidance of risky behaviors. In addition, researchers have found that afterschool programs encourage increased parental involvement, an important building block for student success. This updated evaluations backgrounder focuses on the impact of afterschool programs on academic outcomes, student behavior and parental concerns about children's safety. Download PDF

Afterschool Outcomes (2009)
National, state and local evaluations are providing evidence of the impact afterschool and summer programs have on academic outcomes for students. Download PDF

STEM Outcomes
The Defining Youth Outcomes for STEM Learning in Afterschool study aimed to identify what STEM learning outcomes these program leaders and supporters believe that afterschool programs could contribute to, what the indicators of progress toward such outcomes might be, and what types of evidence could be collected by afterschool programs, without regard to whether or not appropriate data collection tools currently exist. Download PDF

ABCs of High Quality Programs
High quality programs accelerate student academic achievement by helping students improve their attendance, behavior, and coursework. Download PDF

America After 3pm (2014)
America After 3PM spans a decade of data chronicling how children spend the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. — the hours after school ends and before parents typically return home from work. It highlights the trends of afterschool program participation, documents the benefits associated with participation in afterschool programs, and measures public support for afterschool programs.  Learn More

The Achievement Gap Is Real. Vandell (2013)
New research demonstrates that more consistent time spent in afterschool activities during the elementary school years is linked to narrowing the academic and social gap at grade 5. Read More

The Life-Enhancing Benefits of Reading in Out-of-School Programs. Afterschool Alliance (2013)
Scholastic Family and Community Engagement (FACE) and the Afterschool Alliance have partnered to spotlight the role of reading in a child’s life and the unique ways afterschool programs can incorporate reading into their curricula, promoting students’ academic success, boosting self-confidence and improving their overall well-being. This issue brief points to research that demonstrate the number of positive outcomes associated with avid reading, such as academic gains, increased drive to do well in school and improved self-esteem. The brief also highlights the important role afterschool programs play in helping students access reading materials, as well as become engaged and critical readers. Read More

After School Program Quality and Student Outcomes: Reflections on Positive Key Findings on Learning and Development. Vandell (2013)
Returning to afterschool programs, there is a rapidly growing body of evidence that draws on the explosive growth of the field in recent years. This evidence is somewhat mixed, in part because of the considerable variation in afterschool programs. A substantial and growing number of studies, however, support the significant and positive impact of these programs on students and families in myriad ways. These afterschool programs should therefore be granted the same opportunities, including policy and budgetary supports by political leaders, as are being granted to other, more highly-promoted innovations for which the research evidence is mixed and inconclusive—for instance, value-added teacher compensation. Read More

Keeping Kids Safe and Supported in the Hours After School. Afterschool Alliance (2014)
The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third of four issue briefs in our sixth series examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores the variety of ways afterschool programs are keeping middle schoolers safe, getting them engaged in learning, and helping them take advantage of their full potential as they navigate school, peers and their surroundings. Read More

Reducing Chronic Absence Starting in the Early Grades. Attendanceworks (2011)
This toolkit (available online or in a printable version) offers information and resources to help city leaders address this essential but often overlooked ingredient of school success.  Fostering a culture of attendance is not just what happens when children are in school. It is also about the habits nurtured before children enter kindergarten and messages reinforced during the afterschool hours. Read More

After-School Worries: Tough on Parents, Bad for Business. Catalyst & Brandeis University (2006)
In this report, we find that parental concern about afterschool time can be greatly reduced often at little cost to companies, and in ways that ultimately will help companies and their employees, especially parents, be fully productive. Organizations cannot afford to ignore a problem that potentially affects a full one-third of the U.S. labor pool.2 To ensure that this source of stress is effectively prevented—or interrupted where it has already begun—we recommend that organizations heed the advice of the working parents whose thoughts are reflected in this report and investigate workplace and community supports that can prevent and even mitigate the negative effects of parental concern about after-school time. Read More

​What We Know About the Impact of 21^st CCLC Program. American Institutes for Research (AIR) 
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program is as complex and varied as the 1.5 million young people it serves nationwide. The 21st CCLC funding supports programming that ranges from small school-based centers (primarily providing academic supports and entirely funded by 21st CCLC dollars) to large multisite programs (offering comprehensive services, including academics, arts, and sports, and funded by a mix of public and private funds).  Read More

Afterschool Alliance Facts
Looking for the basic facts about afterschool such as how many children and youth participate, how many are unsupervised and how afterschool programs benefit children, families and communities? The fact sheets on this website provide an overview of the basic facts used to make the case for afterschool in general and 21st Century Community Learning Centers in particular. Read More