Abstract

This report presents the results of a two-year randomized control trial evaluation of the SPARK foundational literacy program. SPARK is an early grade literacy program developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee that pairs one-on-one tutoring with parent engagement. In 2010, SPARK was awarded an Investing in Innovation (i3) U.S. Department of Education grant to test its impact in seven low-income and low-achieving Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). In the fall of 2013, 286 students were randomly assigned to receive SPARK for two years and 290 assigned to the control condition. Overall attrition rates ranged from 34.4% to 38.7% and differential attrition rates between SPARK and control students ranged from 1.2% to 3.0%, depending on the outcome. Most participants received a high dosage of both tutoring and family engagement across their two years of participation. Although SPARK had statistically significant positive impacts on literacy development and regular school day attendance, most, if not all, of the impact was realized during the first year of participation. The impact of SPARK was also found to be greatest for students with the greatest need for additional literacy support.

摘要

本报告介绍了对 SPARK 基础扫盲计划进行的为期两年的随机对照试验评估的结果。SPARK 是由大密尔沃基男孩女孩俱乐部开发的一项早期识字计划，将一对一辅导与家长参与相结合。2010 年，SPARK 获得了美国教育部的创新投资 (i3) 赠款，以测试其对七所低收入和成绩不佳的密尔沃基公立学校 (MPS) 的影响。2013 年秋季，286 名学生被随机分配接受两年的 SPARK，290 名学生被分配到控制条件。根据结果​​，总体流失率在 34.4% 到 38.7% 之间，SPARK 和对照组学生之间的差异流失率在 1.2% 到 3.0% 之间。大多数参与者在两年的参与中都接受了大量的辅导和家庭参与。尽管 SPARK 对识字发展和正常上课日出勤率具有统计上显着的积极影响，但大部分影响（如果不是全部）在参与的第一年就实现了。还发现 SPARK 对最需要额外读写支持的学生的影响最大。