The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
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The Out-of-School-Time Program Evaluation Database
Erin Harris of HFRP outlines what information the HFRP Out-of-School Time Evaluation Database includes, how it is organized, and its practical applications.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on Evaluating Out-of-School Time by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Does Youth Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities Make a Difference?
Sandra Simpkins of HFRP integrates findings from academic research and program evaluation to provide a comprehensive look at the relationship between participation in out-of-school time (OST) activities and positive youth outcomes, and points to new directions for OST research and evaluation.
Evaluating Out-of-School Time
This is the third issue of The Evaluation Exchange (Harvard Family Research Project's quarterly evaluation periodical) devoted to exploring the challenges and solutions associated with evaluating out-of-school (OST) programs. This issue includes articles on what we know from existing research and evaluation about the results that are possible from OST programming, expert commentary on what the future OST research and evaluation agenda should look like, and information about hands-on research and evaluation tools and resources. It is also includes a special report with expert commentary on the implications of the first year findings in Mathematica's evaluation of the national 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. To read the previous issues on out-of-school time, go to our issue archive.
How can research and evaluation improve practice regarding access and equity in out-of-school time programs?
Five experts in the field of youth development and OST programming address the question of how research and evaluation can improve practice regarding access and equity in out-of-school time programs.
Evaluating the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program—A View From the States
Erin Harris and Priscilla Little, from Harvard Family Research Project, describe the implementation of the new 21st Century Community Learning Centers program’s evaluation requirements in the context of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Improving Bradenton’s After School Programs Through Utilization-Focused Evaluation
Katherine Loflin of the Knight Foundation describes the utilization-focused evaluation efforts in one of Knight’s communities.
A Conversation With Michelle Gambone
Effective Interventions and School Reforms for At-Risk Children
What are effective interventions for at-risk children? This course will address this question with a focus on children in poverty and children suffering social and emotional risks. We will examine several school initiatives—including the movement to implement standards and high-stakes tests, promising charter and pilot schools, and efforts to improve teaching, as well as selected early childhood initiatives, mentoring programs, and after school interventions. While the primary focus of the course will be on the impact of interventions on children's academic development, we will also look at their impact on children's social and ethical development.
Family, School, & Society: The Social Context of Development and Learning
In this course we will consider the social and cultural contexts which shape developmental and educational processes. The primary focus will be on understanding the nature of contemporary social problems including racism, sexism, ethnic prejudice, social class oppression, and ability discrimination as they affect children, families, and schooling. Emphasis will be given to the special role of education in linking community resources for an integrated approach to addressing problems in children's lives.
Learning From Logic Models in Out-of-School Time
This brief offers an in-depth review of logic models and how to construct them. A logic model can be a powerful tool for illustrating a program's theory of change to program staff, partners, funders, and evaluators. Moreover, a completed logic model provides a point of reference against which progress towards achievement of desired outcomes can be measured on an ongoing basis, both through performance measurement and evaluation.
Documenting Progress and Demonstrating Results: Evaluating Local Out-of-School Time Programs
A collaboration with the Finance Project, this brief provides practitioners of local out-of-school time programs with techniques, tools, and strategies for improving their program and tracking their effectiveness over time.
Evaluating Citizen Schools
Charlie Schlegel of Citizen Schools explains how their evaluation strategy successfully balances the need to determine program impact with the need for continuous improvement.
Beyond the Head Count: Evaluating Family Involvement in Out-of-School Time
This brief offers an overview of how out-of-school time programs can evaluate their family involvement strategies and practices. It draws on findings from our OST Evaluation Database, interviews, and email correspondence.
Evaluating Municipal Out-of-School Time Initiatives
To inform municipal leaders who are developing out-of-school time evaluations, HFRP scanned the city-level initiatives in its evaluation profiles database and prepared this short brief that describes the evaluation approaches, methods, and performance measures that some cities are using for evaluation.
Evaluation of 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs: A Guide for State Education Agencies
This brief offers an in-depth look at the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) evaluation requirements (both performance measurement for accountability and program evaluation) and provides practical suggestions about how to implement 21st CCLC evaluation at the state and local level. It includes a checklist of issues to consider when designing state and local 21st CCLC evaluations.
Youth Involvement in Evaluation & Research
This brief draws on information collected from focus group interviews with representatives of 14 programs that are involving youth in their evaluation and research efforts. It examines the elements of successful youth involved research projects and offers short profiles of the 14 organizations included in the study.
All for Our Future
Luis Carlos Greer and Tamara Martinez, youth living in Arizona, describe how they got involved by working with a local community organization to make a change in their community.
Electronic Resources
A list of useful resources on the Internet.
National Evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Mark Dynarski and Mary Moore of Mathematica Policy Research, reveal the challenges of evaluating a national program implemented in multiple locations with inherently different key elements.
A Conversation With Jane Quinn
Assistant Executive Director for Community Schools Partnerships at the Children’s Aid Society in New York, Jane Quinn spoke with us about how the after school field has evolved and what she thinks the future holds.
Pizza, Transportation, and Transformation: Youth Involvement in Evaluation and Research
Jennifer Smith from HFRP writes about involving youth in evaluation and research.
Logic Models in Real Life: After School at the YWCA of Asheville
Cindy McMahon of the YWCA of Ashville, North Carolina, shares how YWCA as a whole, and her after school program as a part of it, used a logic model to show they make a difference for women and families.
Logic Model Basics
JuNelle Harris of HFRP outlines the basics of designing logic models.
Why evaluate after school programs?
Olatokunbo (Toks) Fashola, Associate Research Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR), reveals the steps new programs can take to initiate evaluation.