The impact of an after-school intervention program on academic achievement among middle school students

JoAnn Sebastian, Tennessee State University

Abstract

The United States Department of Education (2005) cited that during 2005- 2006 academic school year an estimated 2 million students across the nation were eligible to receive after- school services. The after- school tutoring program is one of the most effective instructional strategies to assist low- performing students to meet criteria mandated by NCLB. Many school districts have turned to after- school programs to offer more instructional time to help at-risk students performing below proficiency to "catch up" to their peers. The purpose of this study was to investigate achievement gains for students who participated in the Knowledge Points after-school intervention program at ABC Middle School compared to a control group of students enrolled at XYZ Middle School (pseudonym) who did not participate in Knowledge Points during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic school years. Initially, information was gathered on the participants that profiled their socioeconomic status, ethnicity, participation in Knowledge Points After-School Tutoring Program, and achievement in reading, mathematics, and science as measured by Tennessee Comprehensive Achievement Program (TCAP) scores. The test-items measure student performance based on the guidelines set by Tennessee Curriculum Standards. Also, the study determined if students' ethnicity, gender, reading, mathematics, and science achievement was impacted as a result of participation in Knowledge Points after- School Tutoring Program measured by TCAP scores. Archival data from 2008-2010 school years was analyzed for 35 seventh grade students from ABC Middle School. A pre- and post-test design was used to establish the impact of the after-school intervention using data that compared 2008-2010 academic school year scores on TCAP reading, mathematics, and science. A factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA analyzed the effects of the intervention with a significance of (p < .05) and effect size (Cohen's d > .20) by comparing the experimental and control groups (Bixler, 2009). In addition, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for statistical procedures to examine variables (ethnicity and gender) that influence student performance. The findings suggest no impact on reading/language arts and mathematics and science TCAP scores among students who participated in Knowledge Points after-school tutoring program during the 2008-2010 school years. Findings also indicated that the after-school tutoring program did not significantly impact students' achievement on reading/language arts, mathematics, and science TCAP scores based on gender and ethnicity.

Subject Area

Mathematics education|Middle School education|Literacy|Reading instruction

Recommended Citation

JoAnn Sebastian, "The impact of an after-school intervention program on academic achievement among middle school students" (2013). ETD Collection for Tennessee State University. Paper AAI3587666.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3587666

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