A systematic review with a meta-analysis identified 17 studies that evaluated the impact of extended school hours programs. The analyses provided by this review indicate that none of those types of intervention is associated with a significant effect on juvenile delinquency as measured by self-reports, police records, and teacher or parent reports of arrests and behavioral incidents [1].
A second systematic review with a meta-analysis, despite not finding any statistically significant impacts on the variables ‘substance use’ and ‘school attendance’, reported positive impacts on the following variables: students’ positive attitude to school (standardized mean difference = 0.34), school bonding (standardized mean difference = 0.14), promotion of positive social behaviors (standardized mean difference = 0.19), externalizing behaviors (standardized mean difference = 0.19), and school performance (standardized mean difference = 0.12). In all cases, the impact was considered small, but statistically significant [2].
A third systematic review with a meta-analysis refined the results related to school performance, insofar as it found specific effects on reading and math skills, on an individual basis. On average, students who participated in this type of program performed slightly (and statistically significantly) better than those who did not (standardized mean differences = 0.07 and 0.16, respectively) [3].
The Crime Solutions platform presents the results of those three meta-analyses and classifies that type of program as promising in the areas of self-perception, school performance, child-school bonding, and positive social behaviors, but as ineffective for reducing delinquency, drug use, and school attendance.