21st Century Community Learning Centers 2015-2016: A Descriptive Evaluation
Author: Hammer, Patricia Cahape
Date: 2017-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Administrator Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Program Effectiveness,Standardized Tests,Scores,Comparative Analysis,Academic Achievement,Elementary Secondary Education,Grade 4,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Grade 9,Grade 10,Grade 11,Age Differences,Student Behavior,Homework,Student Participation,Achievement Gains,Volunteers,Community Programs

This evaluation study provides information about the implementation and outcomes of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program in West Virginia, from September 2015 through May 2016, in which 12,388 students participated overall. The report draws on information from online surveys of directors of thirty six 21st CCLC programs and from regular-day school teachers of 2,034 of the 5,163 students who participated in programming for at least 30 days. It also draws on West Virginia General Summative Assessment (WVGSA) scores for 1,864 of the students who participated for at least 30 days, and a matching group of 1,864 nonparticipants used as a control. The students were grouped by grade level and compared in mathematics and English/language arts (ELA) using changes in scale score means for Grades 4-11. The mean performance level changes for the two groups were also compared, aggregated by programmatic level. The study found that most participating students were in the elementary grades. The mean number of days students attended ranged from about 12 to 112 days by program. Teachers reported that about 60% of students improved their behavior in the regular classroom and nearly 70% improved in completing their homework and class participation. The quasi-experimental study using scale score means for Grades 4-11 showed no statistically significant differences between the 21st CCLC participants and nonparticipants, except for fourth graders in ELA, with participants having a slight edge on nonparticipants. The comparison by programmatic level showed a statistically significant higher gain in ELA among nonparticipant elementary students compared with participants and a significantly higher gain in mathematics performance levels among participating high school students compared with nonparticipating high school students. The largest sources of program volunteers were K-12 service learning programs, parents, and higher education service learning programs. The groups with which program directors reported working most successfully were community organizations, higher education service learning programs, and local businesses. Regarding work with partners, the most frequent types of support received were in programming, program resources, and evaluation. All program directors considered their various partnership activities to be at least moderately effective. Program directors reported their greatest need for more professional development to be in programming, for technical assistance in federal/state requirements; and for information resources in programming and collaboration. More than 60% of program directors reported at least moderate success in parent and community involvement, which is a large gain compared with less than 40% the previous year. In responses to open-ended questions, the most frequently mentioned successes were in the area of program improvement, most often-mentioned challenges were in staffing and staff development. Program directors were asked to make recommendations for how to improve the program for the future. Among program directors who commented, the most frequently mentioned recommendations were for more networking opportunities and sharing of best practices, and for additional improvements in the reporting systems. [For the 2014-2015 report, see ED569909.]