Brooks, P. E., Valdes, R. M., Herman, J. L., & Baker, E. L. (1990). Evaluation report, March 1, 1990: LA’s BEST after school education and enrichment program. Los Angeles: UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, University of California–Los Angeles.

Brooks, P. E., & Herman, J. L. (1991). Evaluation report, July 31, 1991: LA’s BEST an after school education and enrichment program. Los Angeles: UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, University of California–Los Angeles.

Brooks, P. E., & Forman, R. (1993). Final evaluation report, December 17, 1993: LA’s BEST an after school education and enrichment program. Los Angeles: UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, University of California–Los Angeles.

Brooks, P. E., Mojica, C. M., & Land, R. E. (1995). Final evaluation report: Longitudinal study of LA’s BEST after school education and enrichment program, 1992–94. Los Angeles: UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, University of California–Los Angeles.

Huang, D., Gribbons, B., Kim, K. S., Lee, C., & Baker, E. L. (2000). A decade of results: The impact of the LA’s BEST after school enrichment initiative on subsequent student achievement and performance. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles. Available at: www.pasesetter.com/reframe/documents/uclaeval.pdf

Huang, D., Choi, K., Davis, D., Henderson, T., Kim, K. Lin, S., et al. (2003). Evaluating the impact of LA’s BEST on students’ social and academic development: Study of 74 LA’s BEST Sites 2001–2002 final report. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles.

Huang, D., Choi, K., Henderson, T., Howe, J., Kim, K., Vogel, M., et al. (2004). Evaluating the impact of LA’s BEST on students’ social and academic development: Study of 100 LA’s BEST Sites 2002–2003. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles.

Huang, D. (2004). Exploring the long-term impact of LA’s BEST on students’ social and academic development. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles.

Huang, D., Kim, K. S., Marshall, A., & Perez, P. (2005). Keeping kids in school: An LA’s BEST example—A study examining the long-term impact of LA’s BEST on students’ dropout rates. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles.

Huang, D. (2005). Evaluating the effects of academic skills and academic enablers taught at LA’s BEST on the achievement of student participants. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles.

Peppler, K. A., & Catterall, J. S. (2006). Year two evaluation of the LA’s BEST After School Arts Program: Evaluating student learning in the arts. Los Angeles: Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. University of California–Los Angeles.

Goldsmidt, P., Huang, D., & Chinen, M. (2007). The long-term effects of after-school programming on educational adjustment and juvenile crime: A study of the LA’s BEST after-school program. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

Huang, D., Coordt, A., La Torre, D., Leon, S., Miyoshi, J., Pérez, P., & Peterson, C. (2007). The afterschool hours: Examining the relationship between afterschool staff-based social capital and student engagement in LA’s BEST (CSE Technical Report 712). Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles. Available at: www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R712.pdf

Huang, D., Miyoshi, J., La Torre, D., Marshall, A., Perez, P., & Peterson, C. (2007). Exploring the intellectual, social and organizational capitals at LA’s BEST (CSE Technical Report 714). Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles. Available at: www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R714.pdf

Huang, D., Leon, S., La Torre, D., & Mostafavi, S. (2008). Examining the relationship between LA’s BEST program attendance and academic achievement of LA’s BEST students (CRESST Report 749). Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles. Available at: www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R749.pdf

Huang, D., La Torre, D., Duong, N., Huber, L. P., Leon, S., & Oh, C. (2009). A circle of learning: Children and adults growing together in LA’s BEST (CRESST Report 758). Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles. Available at: www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R758.pdf

Huang, D., Leon, S., Harven, A. M., La Torre, D., & Mostafavi, S. (2009). Exploring the relationships between LA’s BEST Program attendance and cognitive gains of LA’s BEST students (CRESST Report 757). Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles. Available at: www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R757.pdf

Huang, D., Leon, S., Hodson, C., La Torre, D., Obregon, N., & Rivera, G. (2010). Preparing students for the 21st Century: Exploring the effect of afterschool participation on students’ collaboration skills, oral communication skills, and self-efficacy. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), University of California–Los Angeles. Available at: www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R777.pdf

Regino Chávez
Director of Evaluation
LA’s BEST
711 E. 14th Place
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Tel: 213-745-1900 x52995
Email: reginoc@lasbest.lausd.net

Secondary Sources/Data Review: Data were collected on the rate at which students were redesignated as fully proficient in English, school absence rates, course-taking patterns, and rates of student mobility (transiency).

Tests/Assessments: Scores from the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills and the Stanford-9 Achievement Test in reading math and language arts were reviewed.

Longer-term program participation was significantly related to positive achievement on standardized tests of mathematics, reading, and language arts when the influence of gender, ethnicity, income, and language status was controlled for.

More program participation was related to better subsequent program attendance when the influence of gender, ethnicity, income, and language status was controlled for.

Higher levels of program participation led to better subsequent school attendance, which, in turn, related to higher academic achievement on standardized tests of mathematics, reading, and language arts.

Language redesignation rates favored LA’s BEST participants when compared with non-LA’s BEST youth for fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade data. No significant differences were found in comparing performance for grades 5 and 7.

Absence data for the fifth-grade group (1994–95) showed that youth who participated in LA’s BEST had significantly fewer absences in grades 6 and 7, although no differences were detected in grades 8 and 9.

Although in the initial year LA’s BEST youth began with mathematics achievement scores significantly lower than those of nonparticipants, in 1997–98 those differences no longer existed.