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Little impact seen from student mentor programs
Student-mentoring programs had no significant impact on students' academic achievement and engagement, interpersonal relationships and high-risk or delinquent behaviors, according to a Department of Education impact study. However, the study of 32 student-mentoring program and 2,573 students in grades 4-8 did find different impacts for girls and boys. Mentoring programs showed some benefits for girls and mixed results for boys in subgroup analyses. Girls with mentors self-reported higher scholastic efficacy and better school bonding and pro-social behaviors, the study says. While boys with mentors had more of a future orientation (as did girls), they had lower scores on pro-social behavior scales than controls. Younger students with mentors (below the age of 12) had a decrease in truancy compared to their control group peers. The researchers measured a total of 17 outcomes in the domains of interpersonal relationships and personal responsibility, academic achievement and engagement, and high-risk or delinquent behavior to evaluate the impact of student mentor programs. Mentors, on average, reported meeting with their students, on a weekly basis for approximately one hour per meeting. For students who were matched with mentors, the average length of the relationship was 5.8 months. Controls were students who were wait-listed for mentors. Because 35% of the control group students reported receiving mentoring either from the school-based program or elsewhere in the community and because some treatment group students did not meet with a mentor, the treatment contrast was reduced, the researchers note. "Impact Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Education's Student Mentoring Program," Lawrence Bernstein et al, Institute of Education Sciences, March 2009. Other research briefs: achievement in math instruction schoolers obesity prevention in after-school programs when there's a threat thoughts on merit pay for teachers |