Evaluation of Citizen Schools

The final report of this multi-year evaluation of the Citizen Schools program in Boston compares former participants’ progress towards graduation with the high school outcomes of a matched comparison group. The report concludes that Citizen Schools participation was associated with more successful transitions from middle school to high school, better academic outcomes in the early high school grades, and higher graduation rates, compared to the outcomes of matched nonparticipating students.

Evaluation of the Beacon Community Centers Middle School Initiative

PSA’s second report from the evaluation of the Beacon Community Centers’ Middle School Initiative explores program implementation, youth characteristics, and the circumstances in which program services are most and least effective. The evaluation found that the support of the Beacon’s host school and the tenure of the Beacon director were significant predictors of the number of middle-grades youth who enroll in a Beacon. Additionally, Beacons in which the director communicated regularly with staff at the host school and Beacons that employed a master teacher or education specialist were more likely to enroll middle-grades youth who attended the program at high levels. The evaluation also found that the availability of leadership opportunities for youth in the Beacon was positively associated with youth self-reports about their experiences at the Beacon.

Surveys Conducted for Center on Education Policy (CEP) Highlight State and District Experiences in Implementing ARRA

At the request of CEP, PSA surveyed state government leaders in winter 2009 on the financial conditions of state education budgets, state progress toward meeting ARRA’s reform goals, state interest in national content standards, and states’ needs for financial and regulatory relief. In spring 2010, PSA conducted a nationally representative survey of school districts to learn about their financial conditions and how their uses of ARRA funds had affected school-system operations and plans for the future. Survey analyses found serious financial shortfalls at state and local levels resulting from economic downturns. CEP produced reports presenting findings from the PSA surveys.