Results
2011 Freedom School Partners Evaluation Results
Freedom School Partners has contracted with The Center for Adolescent Literacies at UNC Charlotte to evaluate its Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® summer programs and determine impact on the reading ability of students served in Charlotte. During the summer 2011, FSP served over 950 students at fifteen sites for six to seven weeks. Students ranging from Kindergarten through 8th grade engaged in the literacy-based CDF Freedom Schools curriculum. Evaluators assessed randomly-selected students using the Basic Reading Inventory 10th Edition (Johns, 2008), an individually administered informal reading inventory with multiple measures used to assess facets of reading.
Finding Highlights
- The CDF Freedom Schools program prevented summer learning loss in reading for over 90% of participants. 61% of Freedom School scholars showed moderate to significant gains in their ability to read. 34% of scholars maintained their reading levels.
- Gains were made by all age groups. Students in 3rd through 5th grade gained over a year in reading ability. On average, students in K – 2nd grade and 6th – 8th grade gained just under a full year in reading ability.
This report is the third consecutive year that UNC Charlotte has found that over 90% of CDF Freedom Schools scholars maintain or gain in their reading ability while in the program. National research shows that low-income students are at risk to lose two to three months reading ability during the summer months. This loss is cumulative, and as a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college.
Click here to download the 2011 Evaluation Report.