Examining the evidence on out-of-school-time programs

Examining the evidence on out-of-school-time programs 
Out-of-school-time (OST) programs typically provide youth with additional academic instruction outside of school hours and/or recreational and enrichment activities.To examine the evidence base on OST programs, Jennifer McCombs and colleagues from the RAND Corporation reviewed meta-analyses and large-scale, rigorous experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of after-school and summer programs. Their review included specialty programs (e.g., sports or arts programs); multipurpose programs (e.g., Boys and Girls clubs); and academic programs (e.g., summer learning programs).
After reviewing the research, the authors compiled the following conclusions:
  • OST programs provide measurable benefits to youth and families on outcomes directly related to program content
  • Academic OST programs with sufficient dosage (measured by the hours of content provided) can demonstrably improve student achievement
  • Program quality and intentionality influence outcomes
  • Youth need to attend regularly to measurably benefit from programming
The authors provide a complete list of studies reviewed and their key findings. Findings are categorized as: positive (desired outcome and statistically significant at the 0.05 level), negative (a non-desirable outcome and statistically significant at the 0.05 level), or null (outcome that was not statistically significant at the 0.05 level).

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