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A Summary of Outcome Measurement Tools for Out-of-School Time Programs

Research BriefOut-of-School TimeJul 30 2024

This guide summarizes information on 25 survey questionnaires, assessment tools, and other data collection tools that out-of-school time (OST) practitioners and researchers can use to assess outcomes for program participants. The guide is intended to improve the quality of outcomes monitoring and evaluation projects by increasing access to data collection tools developed by (or in partnership with) researchers using systematic processes. Practitioners and researchers should use this guide in conjunction with our related report, Measuring Youth Development: How Out-of-School Time Programs Collect and Use Data, which examines how afterschool, summer, and other out-of-school-time (OST) programs gauge their work and impact, as well as the obstacles these programs face.

Following our introduction, we include a summary of each data collection tool, including information such as:

  • How to access the tool
  • Who developed the tool
  • Who is expected to complete the survey or assessment
  • The age of the children/youth whose outcomes the tool is designed to assess
  • The language(s) in which the tool is available

In addition to this summary and the lists of tools, the guide also includes answers to frequently asked questions that program staff and researchers might have about the guide’s rationale and development and possible directions for future work.

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We identified tools using a combination of methods, including a review of academic search engines, surveys and interviews with OST providers, and a review of initial lists by three research and evaluation experts. We restricted our search to resources published in the United States from 2010 to 2023 that described tools developed for use in OST programs or youth development settings for children and teenagers ages 5-18 or in grades K-12. Our list of resources also includes searchable databases and other compilations of resources identified through our searches.

For more information on how this guide was developed and how to use it, please see the Frequently Asked Questions in the PDF.


Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank external reviewers Seana Hasson, Christina Russell, and Deepa Vasudevan for their thoughtful review and feedback on an initial list of data collection tools. We would also like to thank Brandon Stratford for his senior review and recommendations, Maeve Day for her assistance searching for and tabling resources, and the co-authors of the earlier report from which this resource was drawn: Hannah Lantos, Michael Bradley, Sham Habteselasse, and Jessica Warren.

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Suggested Citation

Redd, Z., Sacks, V., & Stafford, R. (2024). A summary of outcome measurement tools for out-of-school time programs. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/6829n1836c

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