Evidence Summary: Rigorous internal and external third-party evaluations
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* Compared to a comparison group of similar students who did not participate in a summer or afterschool program. See each individual study for more details on the comparison group. Valuing continuous improvement, BellXcel strives to learn more about what works to ensure that our solutions and services meet the needs of our customers in planning for, implementing, and measuring their out-of-school-time programs. Through rigorous internal and third-party evaluations BellXcel has built a robust evidence base, aligned with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) evidence standards. Taken together, this evidence base illuminates the power and potential of partnering with BellXcel to narrow the opportunity gap, increase school engagement, enhance the work of educators, and meet family and community needs. Externally-Validated to Meet ESSA Evidence Standards Third-party reviews confirm that BellXcel Summer and Afterschool meet ESSA evidence standards. The RAND Corporation’s independent review of summer programs nationwide confirms BellXcel meets the highest levels of evidence – one of only 43 summer programs in the U.S. with that distinction. 19 Independent review by Research for Action found that BellXcel meets the highest levels of evidence – one of only 16 academically-focused afterschool programs nationwide. 20 The BellXcel Impact BellXcel is a nationally-recognized leader empowering youth program providers with innovative solutions, services and resources to scale and create meaningful impact across a variety of settings and communities. Through Arly, its innovative software solution and services, youth programming providers are enabled to scale the quality, evidence and impact of their experiences. To strengthen the strategic and operational capacity of youth development professionals to better serve their communities, affiliate SCRI delivers consulting and evaluation services. RISE initiatives round out the pathways BellXcel has established in pursuit of its collective mission. RISE directs resources to qualified youth program providers in rural and indigenous communities to help them to create desired change.
Evidence of Scholar Success Rigorous internal and external third-party evaluations confirm that BellXcel’s model for summer and afterschool programs have strong, positive impacts on the academic and social emotional skills of youth. Findings indicate that the model: • Provides continued academic progress during the summer. Youth, on average, experience 2 months of academic gains in literacy and 2.5 months in math during the summer. 1, 2 • Improves performance on school-year standardized assessments. Youth perform higher on national standardized tests administered in the fall such as Dibels, NWEA MAP, and iReady. 3, 4, 5, 9 • Improves performance on spring school-year tests. Youth perform higher* on end-of-grade math achievement tests. 6, 7 • Improves school year attendance. Participants in the summer model have higher school attendance in the fall than their peers*. 2, 7, 8 • Reduces school year behavioral referrals. Youth participants have fewer school year behavioral referrals. 2, 8 • Improves school year academic performance among various student groups. Youth in key subgroups gain literacy and math skills and/or perform higher on school-year assessments*: 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10
• Hispanic/Latino students • Dual language learners • Students receiving free and reduced price meals
• Pre-kindergarten • Elementary grades K–4 • Middle school grades 5–8 • Special education needs
• Increases engagement and interest in learning. Youth who participate in BellXcel’s summer model enter the school year with improved attitudes toward learning and increased eagerness to learn. 1 Additionally, youth* watch fewer hours of television and play fewer hours of video games. 9 • Strengthens key social-emotional skills. Youth experience growth in key social-emotional competencies such as growth mindset, self- regulation, self-awareness, responsible decision making, and self-confidence. 1, 17, 18
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Evidence of Family Engagement The BellXcel model is intentionally designed to engage families in their child’s learning, resulting in: • Increased family engagement in their child’s learning. Parents/caregivers increase their involvement in their child’s education, including reading to their children* and encouraging their child to read more frequently. 1, 9 Evidence of Improved Educator Practice Educators participate in BellXcel’s professional development while gaining real-world learning experiences through ongoing coaching and reflection that positively impacts their school-year teaching. BellXcel’s comprehensive staff professional development has been shown to positively impact teacher practice and: • Enhance school year teacher practices and confidence. Educators start the school year with new and enhanced approaches to teaching and more confidence to implement new practices, particularly in the areas of growth mindset and supporting positive behaviors. 11, 12 • Increase energy and passion for teaching. Educators start the school year with increased energy and passion for teaching. 10, 11, 14 • Improve use of student-centered practices. Summer educators are more likely than teachers not employed in a summer program to improve their use of student-centered practices. 14 • Increase opportunities for coaching and feedback. Summer educators receive important feedback and coaching about how to improve instruction and classroom practices. 14
Evidence of High-Quality Program & Implementation A key factor in strong positive findings for youth, families, and educators is high-quality program implementation. Internal quality assurance and external third-party studies confirm that BellXcel’s model: • Aligns with high quality and strong fidelity according to national standards. BellXcel’s summer model is implemented with strong fidelity and with high quality relative to national program quality standards developed by the RAND Corporation and National Summer Learning Association (NSLA). 2, 5, 13 • Enables effective adaptations. Flexible solutions for remote environments enabled programs to successfully adapt to their remote learning needs resulting in youth learning, social-emotional skill development, and enhanced confidence and skills with using remote learning technology. 15, 16, 17, 18 • Provides educators with experiences to increase
satisfaction and decrease burnout. BellXcel’s partner programs created high-quality staff
experiences by incorporating strong relationships, support, collaboration, a positive environment for teaching, flexibility, autonomy and readily available resources. 21 • Supports professional development . BellXcel’s professional development model and activities are recognized for strengthening staff professional skills and supporting educator growth. 5, 10, 11 Evidence of Systems Change for Customer Organizations BellXcel interviewed partners and found that a BellXcel partnership positively influenced organizations in several ways. Partners noted the following areas were strengthened as part of working with BellXcel: 22
• Program outcomes and evidence • Community relationships • Organizational confidence • Philanthropy and fundraising • Program planning and operations
* Compared to a comparison group of similar students who did not participate in a summer or afterschool program. See each individual study for more details on the comparison group.
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Citations
1. BellXcel. (2018). 2018 National Summer Learning Report.
12. BellXcel. (2018). Results from an Internal Teacher Professional Development Survey.
2. Waters, T., Fleming, D., Gregory, K., Peyton, R., Stevens, K. (May 2019). An Evaluation of the BellXcel Summer Program: Final Evaluation Report. Riley Institute at Furman University.
13. Somers, M-A., Welbeck, R., Grossman, J.B., Gooden, S. (March 2015). An Analysis of the Effects of an Academic Summer Program for Middle School Students. MDRC.
3. Baltimore City Public Schools. (January 2017). 2016 Summer Learning Evaluation. Presentation to the Teaching and Learning Committee of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners.
14. Steiner, Elizabeth D., Laura Stelitano, Andy Bogart, and Sophie Meyers, The Promise of Summer as a Time for Teacher Professional Learning: Findings from a National Survey and Implications from the BellXcel Program. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021.
4. Baltimore City Public Schools. (January 2018) 2017 Summer Learning Evaluation and 2018 Summer Learning Plan. Presentation to the Teaching and Learning Committee of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners.
15. Sperling Center for Research and Innovation (SCRI). (2021). Building Bridges During Challenging Times: How BellXcel Remote Summer Programs Kept Youth, Families and Staff Engaged in Learning During COVID-19.
5. Cooper-Martin, E., Wade, J. (January 2017). Evaluation of the Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) Summer Learning Program in Montgomery County Schools. Montgomery (MD) County Public School: Office of Shared Accountability.
16. Sperling Center for Research and Innovation (SCRI). (2021). Boosting Technology Confidence Through Learning.
6. Cooper, T. M. (2007). The effects of supplemental educational services on student achievement (Doctoral dissertation, Boston College). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database (UMI No. 3262811)
17. Sperling Center for Research and Innovation (SCRI). (2020). In Their Own Words: What Scholars Say About Social-Emotional Skill Development in Summer.
7. Kim, D., Campbell, A., Chu, R. (February 2017). Project LIFT Year Four Evaluation: Partner Analysis and Fact Sheets (BELL Summer Fact Sheet). Research for Action (RFA).
18. Sperling Center for Research and Innovation (SCRI). (2021). In Their Own Words, 2nd Edition: What Scholars Say about Social-Emotional Skill Development while Learning Remotely.
8. Waters, T., Culclasure, B., Fleming, D., Gregory, K. (2018). An Evaluation of the BELL Summer Program: Executive Summary of Interim Impact Results. Riley Institute at Furman University.
19. McCombs, Jennifer Sloan, Catherine H. Augustine, Fatih Unlu, Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, Scott Naftel, Celia J. Gomez, Terry Marsh, Goke Akinniranye, and Ivy Todd, Investing in Successful Summer Programs: A Review of Evidence Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, RAND Corporation, RR-2836-WF, 2019.
9. Chaplin, D., Capizzano, J. (August 2006). Impacts of a Summer Learning Program: A Random Assignment Study of Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL). Urban Institute.
20. Neild, R. C., Wilson, S. J., & McClanahan, W. (2019). Afterschool Programs: A Review of Evidence under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Research for Action.
10. Gomez, C., Cannon, J., Whitaker, A., Karoly, L. (2017). Big Lift Participation and School Entry Indicators: Findings from the 2016-2017 Kindergarten Class. RAND Corporation.
21. Sperling Center for Research and Innovation (SCRI). (2022). Learning from the Best: Strategies Gained from Teacher Feedback to Recruit and Retain Educators for Out-of-School Time Programs.
11. Bellwether Education Partners. (June 2017). Summer as an Accelerator for Teacher Professional Growth.
22. Sperling Center for Research and Innovation (SCRI). (2021). The Power of Partnerships: Exploring How a Partnership with BellXcel Influences Systems Changes.
* Compared to a comparison group of similar students who did not participate in a summer or afterschool program. See each individual study for more details on the comparison group.
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