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              Breakthrough Austin Impact Study
      Back
                Breakthrough is a college preparation program for low-income students who will be the first in their family to graduate college. The program offers an academic bridge program for sixth-grade students before their seventh-grade year. It also includes continuous academic and social support for students to graduate high school and enroll in college.**Study Goals**This report examined three groups of Breakthrough program students to estimate the impact of the program participation on high school graduation rates and college enrollment. The study considers students demographic, academic, and behavioral characteristics before their participation in the program.**Research Questions**The three research questions that this report seeks to answer are:Are Breakthrough students significantly different from other students before they begin the program?What is the likelihood of high school graduation and college enrollment among Breakthrough students in comparison to other students?What is the impact of Breakthrough participation on high school graduation and college enrollment?**Results**The main results are as follows:Breakthrough participants were similar to other students from the same sixth grade campuses based on their ethnicity and economic situations.Breakthrough students were more likely to be female, to be in magnet programs, and to pass the reading and math state assessments than other students from the same sixth grade campuses.After accounting for student characteristics, Breakthrough students were 3.5 times more likely to graduate from high school.After accounting for student characteristics, Breakthrough students were 1.98 times more likely to enroll in college.Download the final report to see all the information from the evaluation.

      Full report
      

      Full Report
            Breakthrough_17AC189783_Study_508.pdf
        Further information
    



      Program/Intervention
                        Breakthrough Program
  

      Implementing Organization
                        Breakthrough Austin
  

      Intermediary(s)
                        Breakthrough Austin
  

      AmeriCorps Program(s)
            AmeriCorps State and National
  

      Age(s) Studied
            6-12 (Childhood)
                  13-17 (Adolescent)
  

      Outcome Category
            K-12 success
                  Post-secondary educational support
  

      Study Type(s)
            Impact
  

      Study Design(s)
            Non-Experimental
  

      Level of Evidence
            Preliminary
  

      Researcher/Evaluator
                        Technology & Education Consulting Associates
  

      Published Year
                        2011
  

      Study Site Location (State)
            Texas Back to main content Sign up to hear about our latest news, events, and opportunities.
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