A positive, productive environment

After-school programs can benefit a wide range of students

After-school programs are not the solution to everything that ails schools or communities, but they can play a key role providing positive environments for students. A recent report from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) outlines a body of generally encouraging research findings about the effects of after-school programs, and it offers a set of policy recommendations to improve these programs.

“Research is catching up with the commonsense notion that structured after-school programs can provide positive environments for young people to develop,” the report says. “A variety of program evaluations suggest that participation can lead to increased engagement in learning, social skills development, decreased deviancy and a range of other positive outcomes.”

The peak hours for juvenile crime—as well as experimentation with drugs, alcohol and sex—are 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Not surprisingly, studies have shown that teens who don’t participate in after-school programs are three times more likely to use marijuana or other drugs and are also more likely to drink, smoke and have sex than program participants.

The report indicates that after-school programs can help students of all ages develop social skills by giving them opportunities to interact with a more diverse group of peers. Program participation is also linked to less tardiness, fewer absences from school and increased homework completion.

None of these benefits translates directly into improved academic achievement, which for better or worse has become the yardstick by which all programs are measured. The PPI report characterizes the evidence on academic achievement as “less clear-cut,” with some studies showing modest positive effects in reading and math and others finding no significant gains. Given the limited amount of time and resources devoted to after-school programs, the report points out, dramatic academic effects are unlikely. But the programs can play a key role in improving conditions for students, which can, in turn, contribute to academic achievement.

After-school programs—and the federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLCs) in particular—have been the subject of some political battles in the past few years. Citing one small study that failed to show academic improvement, President Bush last year proposed a 40 percent ($400 million) cut in the program. Vigorous opposition to that proposal helped maintain the funding, but the CCLCs continue to be funded at far below authorized levels. The Afterschool Alliance estimates that fully funding the program could help serve 1.4 million additional children.

While urging the federal government to adequately fund after-school programs, the PPI report also includes some recommendations for policymakers:

• Institute clear quality and outcomes standards for what constitutes a high-quality program to ensure that federal investments go to programs that work;
• Evaluate the effectiveness of after-school programs based on the entire range of benefits to children, families and communities, while maintaining a strong emphasis on student learning;
• Target resources to children in low-achieving schools, welfare recipients and other at-risk populations; and
• Support additional rigorous and scientifically based studies to assess the impact of after-school programs on students’ academic achievement, broadly disseminate the findings and modify the federal after-school program accordingly.

“Policymakers must move past false choices pitting funding against quality and an academic focus against a positive social environment,” the report concludes, “and instead ensure that all federally funded after-school programs are high quality and effective in meeting their goals.”

The policy report, “After-School Programs: Expanding Access and Ensuring Quality,” is available at www.ppionline.org.