The Impact of Participation in Supplemental Educational Services on Student Achievement in the Los Angeles Unified School District

• In Event: Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: The Utilization, Implementation, and Effectiveness of Supplemental Educational Services: A Multidistrict Perspective

Abstract

Under NCLB, low income students in Program Improvement schools are eligible for free tutoring, which is commonly referred to as supplemental educational services (SES). The central purpose of this study is to examine the ongoing impact of SES tutoring in English and mathematics on students’ academic performance within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Students eligible for SES are offered free tutoring services outside of regular school hours from an approved list of providers that may include for-profit, non-profit, and faith-based organizations. As in other large, urban school districts, the percent of LAUSD students eligible for SES has grown significantly over time. In 2009-10, nearly two-thirds of all LAUSD students were eligible for SES, and the number of applicants exceeded the number of students that could receive tutoring.

Districts are required to allocate up to 15% of their Title I funds to finance SES. In 2009-10 alone, LAUSD spent approximately $50 million on SES. Due to the amount of resources dedicated to SES, as well as the fact that not all eligible students can receive services, it is important to examine and document the impact of SES on students’ achievement. For the most current academic year, the following research questions were explored for SES participation in LAUSD:

(1) To what extent do families take up the option of free tutoring services?
(2) What is the impact of SES on student achievement in English and math?
(3) How do differing levels of attendance among students affect the impact of SES participation?

To address the first question, we will characterize the levels of participation among the eligible student population. Since SES first became available to LAUSD students in 2002-03, the percent of eligible students applying for SES has increased steadily, but remains low. In 2009-10, less than 15% of eligible students applied for SES, although the majority of applicants ultimately participated in an SES program.

To address the second question, a value-added model will be used to examine the impact of SES participation on California Standards Test (CST) performance in English and math. The value-added model is used to control for students’ prior CST performance, as well as student and school-level demographics. Results are based on a comparison of students who applied but did not attend SES, with those who both applied and attended services. By comparing the group of SES attendees with those who applied but did not attend, we attempt to minimize the potential threats to internal validity. Previous analyses of the impact of SES within LAUSD have shown small but significant gains in performance on the CST for SES attendees, and these analyses will be extended to the 2010-11 school year.

To address the final research question, we will examine differences in the value-added results for students by their level of attendance, to determine whether attending more hours of SES tutoring contributed to larger gains on the CST.

Author

• Melissa K. Barnhart, Los Angeles Unified School District