Description: Programming to Progress looked at the effects of the level of summer and afterschool programming on the the performance of Oregon public school students on standardized tests.
In our analysis:
The vast majority of the schools in our sample (723) are elementary schools (because there are many more elementary schools in Oregon than middle or high schools). In addition, more programming is offered at the elementary school level than in middle or high school. As a result, unless otherwise specified, our analysis focuses on the performance of elementary school students. A description of our methodology and data sources is available here and includes links to the analysis itself.
Because programming typically targets low income children and includes meals, we also looked at the effect of programming on hunger — for children, families, and at the community level. We found a surprising correlation between the provision of meals as a part of afterschool programming and food security.