U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary
Prepared by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. and Decision Information Resources, Inc.
February 2003
The Department of Education commissioned this report - the first of a trio over the next few years - to evaluate the 21st Century Learning Centers program, the primary source of federal dollars for after-school programs in 7,500 schools across the country. It examines a sample of these programs in their second and third years after the federal initiative refocused on academics in 1998. Given the size of the program - it received a $1 billion appropriation in 2002 - it's certainly worth asking whether or not it's working. So far, the results are discouraging. The test scores of participants are no better than those of similar non-participants, with a few exceptions. (Black and Hispanic middle school students did benefit slightly from the program, for example). Perhaps more surprising, student behavior, such as drug-use and study habits, did not improve and, in some areas, actually worsened. For example, participants were more likely to have tried marijuana and to sell drugs. Critics of this study will contend that an examination of a single year is not sufficient and that student behavior is difficult to measure, which may be true. Still, it's important to evaluate these initiatives and it's crucial to figure out what works and what doesn't in after-school services. Meanwhile, the Bush administration has proposed a big ($400 million) reduction in the program's 2004 budget. To read this important piece of research for yourself, visit http://www.ed.gov/pubs/21cent/firstyear/.
