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A Profile of the Evaluation of LA's BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow) Program

Program Description

Overview	The LA’s BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow) Program is an afterschool program that serves elementary-school-aged youth in Los Angeles, California. The program provides youth with a safe environment, enhanced opportunities through integrated educational supports, educational enrichment activities to supplement and deepen the regular program, recreational activities, and interpersonal skills and self-esteem development.
Start Date	1988
Scope	local
Type	afterschool
Location	urban
Setting	public schools
Participants	elementary school students

Number of Sites/Grantees	186 elementary schools
Number Served	28,000 per year
Components	The program is available from the end of the school day until 6 pm, Monday through Friday, at no cost to parents. In addition, numerous citywide events and field trips are scheduled on weekends. To attend, youth must enroll in the program and are expected to participate on a regular basis.
Funding Level	$36 million (2009–2010)
Funding Sources	City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Unified School District, private sector, private foundations, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, California Department of Education, other federal grants, and private individuals

Evaluation

Overview	Beginning in the 1989–90 school year, a series of evaluation studies has been conducted that examine the program’s implementation and impact.
Evaluator(s)	Center for the Study of Evaluation, University of California, Los Angeles
Evaluations Profiled	Evaluation Report, March 1, 1990 Evaluation Report, July 31, 1991 Final Evaluation Report, December 17, 1993 Final Evaluation Report: Longitudinal Study, 1992–94 The impact of the LA’s BEST after school enrichment initiative on subsequent student achievement and performance Examining the Relationship between Afterschool Staff-Based Social Capital and Student Engagement in LA’s BEST Exploring the Relationships between LA’s BEST Program Attendance and Cognitive Gains of LA’s BEST Students Exploring the Effect of Afterschool Participation on Students’ Collaboration Skills, Oral Communication Skills, and Self-Efficacy
Evaluations Planned	The Center for the Study of Evaluation team continues to evaluate the role of LA’s BEST in supporting youth’s academic and social development. The Center is currently conducting an exploratory study on the first year of LA’s BEST summer schools’ impact on language development—due June 30, 2012.
Report Availability	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

Contacts

Evaluation	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	Denise Huang, Ph.D. National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation 301 GSE & IS Bldg Los Angeles, CA 90095 Tel: 310-206-9642 Email: dhuang@cse.ucla.edu
Program	Carla Sanger President and CEO LA’s BEST Office of the Mayor 200 N. Main Street, Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Tel: 213-847-3681 Fax: 485-6606 Email: csanger@mayor.lacity.org
Profile Updated	April 4, 2012

Evaluation 7: Exploring the Relationships between LA’s BEST Program Attendance and Cognitive Gains of LA’s BEST Students

Evaluation Description

Evaluation Purpose	To examine the extent to which participation in LA’s BEST leads to positive achievement outcomes in math and English language arts.
Evaluation Design	Quasi-Experimental: This study consisted of a sample of roughly 6,000 LA’s BEST youth participants tracked over four years. The sample was split into two cohorts: a Grade 2 cohort of approximately 3,700 youth and a Grade 3 cohort of approximately 2,300 youth. Evaluators separated youth in each cohort into four groups based on the number of days of LA’s BEST attendance during the fourth year of data collection: non-attendees (0 days), low-intensity attendees (1–20 days), moderate-intensity attendees (21–99 days), and regular attendees (100 days or more). In each cohort, youth were predominantly Latino (approximately 90% of the sample for each cohort); about half were female; the majority were classified as Limited English Proficient (66% in the Grade 2 cohort and 80% in the Grade 3 cohort); and about one third had parents who either graduated from high school or attended some college.
Data Collection Methods	Secondary Source/Data Review: The evaluator established a longitudinal database on LA’s BEST participants, which includes demographics, academic data (e.g., standardized test scores), and information on the number of days youth attended LA’s BEST each year. Test/Assessments: Included in the longitudinal database are reading and math standardized test scores for each LA’s BEST participant for each year on the California Standards Test.
Data Collection Timeframe	Data were collected on the 2003–04 school year through the 2006–07 school year for the Grade 2 cohort, and on the 2002–03 school year through the 2005–06 school year for the Grade 3 cohort.

Findings:
Summative/Outcome Findings

Academic

Youth who were classified as regular attendees performed significantly better on math achievement test scores (an average of 12 scale points higher) than youth in the other three attendance groups (p < .05).

No significant differences were detected for English language arts achievement test scores.

A Profile of the Evaluation of LA's BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow) Program

Profile Information