Evaluator: Haghighat, M. & Knifsend, C., California State University

Evaluation Methods:

This study uses a nationally representative sample from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, which follows 10th graders in 2002 through 12th grade (2004) and subsequent years. Follow-up questionnaires were administered to participants in 2004, 2006, and 2012. Tenth graders were asked to report on their involvement in 24 types of extracurricular activities.  Breadth, or the number of activities one is simultaneously involved in, was computed as the sum of the 24 activities. Students also reported the time spent on extracurricular activities in a typical week, which was used to measure intensity. In addition, three mediators were tested at both the base year (10th grade) and first follow-up year (12th grade): (1) improvements in time spent on homework, (2) the value placed on education, and (3) expectations for educational attainment, through self-reported ratings. In the final follow-up eight years after high school (2012), the outcome variable, educational attainment, was measured by the completion of a degree or certificate, as reported by the respondent. 

Evaluation Type: Non-experimental

Summary of Outcomes:

This evaluation investigates the roles of three mediators: improved time spent on homework, the value placed on education, and educational expectations by the 12th grade, to explain the relationship between breadth and intensity of extracurricular involvement in 10th grade and educational attainment eight years post high school. Using linear regression models, the breadth of extracurricular activity involvement in the 10th grade was associated with improved expectations for educational attainment by the 12th grade, which was then linked with a greater likelihood of educational attainment eight years after high school, as measured by obtaining a higher certification or degree. Researchers also found that the breadth of extracurricular activities in the 10th grade was related to improved time spent on homework in grade 12, and both the breadth and intensity of extracurricular activities were associated with the value placed on education, but they did not find that these mediators had a significant relationship with educational attainment eight years after high school.