Achievement Mentoring
Solution types
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Where the program was applied
Country of application
Description

This is a school-based program for adolescents aged 12 to 14 who are underachieving at school. The intervention includes analysis and monitoring of school behavior, meetings with parents and teachers, feedback exercises, and a token economy system that is expressed in points that students can earn if they meet behavioral and outcome expectations.
Implementation lasts two years, and activities are conducted in small groups that address behavior change strategies through four components:
1) Collecting up-to-date information on each student’s school behavior;
2) Providing systematic feedback to the student and parents on their behavior;
3) Attaching point values to the student’s behavior to gain incentives;
4) Helping the student discover how they can earn more points through their development.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown that three years after the intervention, program participants had a significant increase in attendance and grades; were more likely to have a job; were less likely to engage in criminal behavior; used fewer illegal drugs; and ,after five years, were 66% less likely to have a criminal record [1] [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Bry, B. H. (1982). Reducing the incidence of adolescent problems through preventive intervention: One- and five-year follow-up. American Journal of Community Psychology, 10(3), 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00896494

[2] Bry, B. H., & George, F. E. (1979). Evaluating and improving prevention programs: A strategy from drug abuse. Evaluation and Program Planning, 2(2), 127-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/0149-7189(79)90022-3