Schools in Virginia that used a bullying-prevention program found that students improved their test scores on state English, math, science, and history exams by an average of 6.25 percentage points.
The 94 elementary and middle schools involved used the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.
Along with a boost in test scores, the schools reported that there were fewer incidences of children being bullied, more students told teachers about bullying episodes, and more teachers actively tried to counteract bullying in their classes.
The schools, enrolling more than 94,400 students, were part of a project funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
