A project of the Afterschool Alliance.

21st Century Community Learning Centers: 2016-2017 Evaluation (West Virginia)

Year Published: 2017

A statewide evaluation of West Virginia’s 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) programs examined positive changes in students’ academic and behavioral outcomes as a result of participation in a 21st CCLC program. Performance on statewide reading and math proficiency exams showed that students who participated in 21st CCLC programs for longer periods of time (120 or more days) experienced higher rates of proficiency in literacy and numeracy skills than nonparticipating students. Students who participated in the 21st CCLC program for 30 or more days had higher rates of

Program Name: West Virginia 21st Century Community Learning Centers

Program Description:

West Virginia’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program, which is federally-funded through the 21st CCLC Initiative, provides academic enrichment opportunities for children at high-poverty and low-performing schools. During the 2016-2017 school year, the afterschool programs reached 10,749 students.  

Scope of the Evaluation: Statewide

Program Type: Afterschool

Location: West Virginia

Grade level: Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Program Demographics:

All schools served by West Virginia’s 21st CCLC programs are Title I eligible, meaning more than 40 percent of students qualify for Free and Reduced Price Lunch. 

Program Website: http://wvde.state.wv.us/research

Evaluator: Hammer, P.C., Office of Education Information Systems, West Virginia Department of Education

Evaluation Methods:

This evaluation relied on survey data collection and existing student assessment data obtained from the West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS). The evaluation looked at achievement scores from the 2017 West Virginia Summative Assessment in mathematics and English/language arts (ELA) and student attendance rates and discipline referral data pulled from WVEIS, to compare students who participated in a 21st CCLC program for at least 30 days with a matched group of students who had not participated. Propensity score matching was used to select a comparison group that closely matched the group of 21st CCLC student participants based on a variety of observed demographic covariates such as age, grade, sex, ethnicity, attendance at a school that receives free meals based on community eligibility, and special education status. The evaluation also used teacher survey results to compare behavioral improvements for students who participated in 21st CCLC programs for varying lengths of time (30, 60, or 90 or more days). 

Evaluation Type: Quasi-experimental

Summary of Outcomes:

A statewide evaluation of West Virginia’s 21st CCLC programs examined positive changes in students’ academic and behavioral outcomes as a result of participation in a 21st CCLC program, with greater program participation improving outcomes. The evaluation of West Virginia’s 21st CCLC programs during the 2016-2017 academic year found that elementary and middle school students who regularly attended programs for longer periods of time (120-plus days) reached higher rates of proficiency in literacy and math on the West Virginia Summative Assessment than nonparticipants who came from strongly similar backgrounds. The results showed that 47.5 percent of students who participated in 21st CCLC programs for 120-plus days reached proficiency in reading versus 45 percent of nonparticipating students. With regards to math, higher program attendance showed even greater gains. Those who participated for 30 or more days had slightly higher rates of math proficiency than the nonparticipating group (33.7 percent proficient vs 33.3 percent proficient). Those who attended for 90 or more days had even higher proficiency rates than the nonparticipants (37.9 percent proficient vs 33.3 percent proficient). Those who attended for 120 or more days had considerably higher math proficiency rates (45.3 percent proficient vs 33.3 percent proficient).   

Elementary and middle school students regularly participating in 21st CCLC programs also exhibited social and emotional growth via higher rates of regular school day attendance and a decrease in the number of discipline referrals received. The average percentage of regular school days attended by nonparticipants is 92.8 percent whereas the average percentage of regular school days attended by students who participated in 21st CCLC programs for 30 or more days is 94.6 percent. As the number of days of program attendance increased, so did the school day attendance rates. School day attendance rates were statistically significantly higher among students regularly attending 21st CCLC programs compared to nonparticipants (30-59 days- 94 percent, 60-89 days- 94.5 percent, 90-119 days- 95.8 percent, 120 or more days- 96.2 percent). Moreover, the average number of discipline referrals given to students who participated in a program for 120 or more days (0.4) was half that of nonparticipating students (0.8).  

It is important to note that the above results do not include high school students because their level of participation was too low to be able to make reliable observations about impacts on their performance. 

When asked about program participants, school day teachers thought that the majority of their students improved in terms of behavior, class participation, and homework completion at every level of program attendance–with rates of student improvement rising as the number of program participation days increased. For example, there is a 13.4 percentage point difference between reported improvement in behavior for students who participated for 30-59 days (63.3 percent) and improvement in behavior for students that participated for 120 or more days (76.7 percent).    


Date Added: November 12, 2018