After-school programs can help schools support students’ reading and math achievement, social-emotional development, and their likelihood of graduating high school, finds a research analysis.
The research groups Research for Action, Abt Associates, and McClanahan Associates analyzed the research track records of 148 after-school programs.
Sixty-four of them showed evidence of benefits for academic or social-emotional outcomes. Effective programs were found across every grade level, but there were significantly more for elementary and middle school grades than for high school.