Student Success Skills

Results from a quasi-experimental (QE) evaluation conducted in the 2007-2008 academic year (published in 2011) support the effectiveness of Student Success Skills for elementary students. The evaluation included 156 grade 4 and 5 students enrolled in schools in the U.S. Southeast (100% Latinx; 100% = enrolled in English for Speakers of Other Languages classes). This evaluation tested the Spanish translation of Student Success Skills. The evaluation found that the students who participated in the program achieved higher standardized test scores in mathematics and reading compared to students in the comparison group (outcomes reported one year after baseline while controlling for outcome pretest).

Results from a QE conducted in the 2008-2009 academic year (dissertation published in 2011) supported the effectiveness of the Spanish translation of Student Success Skills with high school students. This evaluation was conducted with a sample of 352 grade 9 and 10 students in the U.S. Southeast (100% Latinx). This evaluation found that students who participated in the program had higher reading and mathematics standardized test scores compared to students in the control group (outcomes reported nine months after baseline while controlling for outcome pretest).

Results from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in the 2011-2012 academic year (published in 2019) support the effectiveness of Student Success Skills for elementary students. This evaluation used a large, multi-site sample, including 4,320 grade 5 students enrolled in schools in the U.S. Southeast (39% white, 35% Black/African American, 20% Latinx; 55% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL)). The evaluation found that the students who participated in the program experienced significantly greater growth in teacher-reported cooperation, assertation, and positive behavioral engagement compared to students in the comparison group (outcomes reported 30 weeks after baseline, while controlled for outcome pretest and a host of relevant demographic characteristics). Additionally, students who participated in the program experienced significantly less steep increases in teacher-reported disruption than students in the comparison group.

Results from a QE conducted in the 2013-2014 academic year (published in 2015) supported the effectiveness of the Student Success Skills with high school students. This evaluation was conducted with a sample of 197 grade 9 students in the U.S. Southeast who scored below grade-level in reading proficiency (51% Black/African American, 34% Latinx, 12% white). This evaluation found that students who participated in the program had earned more course credits (an indicator of on-track graduation) by the end of their 9th grade year compared to students in the control group (outcomes reported nine months after baseline).

Results from an RCT evaluation published in 2015 and 2018 (Lemberger et al.) supported the effectiveness of the Student Success Skills with middle school students. These evaluations were conducted with a sample of 193 students in grades 7 and 8 in the U.S. Southwest (66% Latinx, 20% white; 81% students in sample district eligible for FRPL). This evaluation found that students who participated in the program achieved higher standardized test scores in reading and mathematics, as well as improvements in self-reported supportive relationships with classmates and executive functioning compared to students in the control group (outcomes achieved three months after baseline while controlling for outcome pretest).