The Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Final Report

This report presents two-year implementation and impact findings on two supplemental academic instruction approaches developed for after-school settings -- one for math and one for reading. It addresses whether one-year impacts are different in the second year of program operations and whether students benefit from being offered two years of enhanced after-school academic instruction

The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study: Findings from the Second Year of Implementation

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a majority of ninth-graders in low-performing high schools begin their freshman year with significant reading difficulties. Poor reading ability is a key predictor of academic disengagement and, ultimately, dropping out. This report presents findings from the second year of the Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) study, a demonstration and random assignment evaluation of two supplemental literacy programs -- Reading Apprenticeship Academic Literacy and Xtreme Reading -- that aim to improve the reading comprehension skills and school performance of struggling ninth-grade readers

Multisector intervention to accelerate reductions in child stunting: an observational study from 9 sub-Saharan African countries

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, ;40% of children ,5 y old are stunted, with levels that have remained largely unchanged over the past 2 decades. Although the complex determinants of undernutrition are well recognized, few studies have evaluated strategies that combine nutrition-specific, health-based approaches with food system– and livelihood-based interventions. Objective: We examined changes in childhood stunting and its determinants after 3 y of exposure to an integrated, multisector intervention and compared these changes with national trends. Design: A prospective observational trial was conducted across rural sites in 9 sub-Saharan African countries with baseline levels of childhood stunting .20%. A stratified random sample of households and resident children ,2 y old from villages exposed to the program were enrolled in the study. Main outcome measures included principal determinants of undernutrition and childhood stunting, which was defined as a height-for-age z score less than 22. National trends in stunting were generated from demographic and health surveys. Results: Three years after the start of the program in 2005–2006, consistent improvements were observed in household food security and diet diversity, whereas coverage with child care and diseasecontrol interventions improved for most outcomes. The prevalence of stunting in children ,2 y old at year 3 of the program (2008–2009) was 43% lower (adjusted OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.83) than at baseline. The average national stunting prevalence for the countries included in the study had remained largely unchanged over the past 2 decades. Conclusion: These findings provide encouraging evidence that a package of multisector interventions has the potential to produce reductions in childhood stunting. Am J Clin Nutr doi: 10. 3945/ajcn.111.020099