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After-School Programs for High School Students: An Evaluation of After School Matters

Research
September 2007
August 2010
$843,729
Barton Hirsch
Northwestern University
Can a large-scale apprenticeship after-school program for high school students improve positive youth development, marketable job skills, and academic performance, and prevent problem behavior? While data show that some after-school programs can positively impact youth outcomes, new studies of large-scale programs have been inconclusive. The Chicago-based After School Matters (ASM) is a rapidly growing, large-scale, multi-site, after-school apprenticeship program for youth ages 14 to 18. This individual-level, random-assignment study of ASM will increase the available research on the efficacy of large-scale after-school programs for in-school youth in this age range and likely provide data on how to improve such programs. The researchers will expand their ongoing study of ASM by tracking samples of incoming students to determine how and if the program improves their success in school, the workplace, and their relationships. During each year of the study, half of the students will be randomly assigned to the apprenticeship program they selected, while the other half will be assigned to a control group that does not participate in ASM. The apprenticeships in the study have a record of successful implementation.
Focus Areas of this Grant
14 - 18
After-school, Intervention/Natural Experiment
Male, Female
Low Income/Working Poor
Urban
Black or African American, Latino or Hispanic
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