Program Evaluation

Throughout the years, TLP's quality programming has yielded substantial qualitative and quantitative evidence of success. TLP has worked with outside evaluators to design valid, reliable evaluation designs to thoroughly assess our programs. Using mixed method models incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data, we are able to measure the positive changes that we see happening to our students. Our blend of training, curriculum, and engaging facilitation have yielded strong outcomes, making TLP programs credible mechanisms for change in the field of youth development.

The Leadership Program incorporates evaluation into each of its programs, substantiating the impact we make in the lives of the students, teachers, and parents we serve. Student data from our Afterschool program indicate attitudinal and behavioral changes from pretest to posttest. Core results indicate improved academic beliefs and behaviors, stronger prosocial values, improved self-image, improved conflict resolution skills, and reduction in fighting. Students report better attendance as a result of wanting to go to afterschool, and express stronger beliefs in their ability to go to college after a year of our program.

Our Violence Prevention Program utilizes a quasi-experimental design including both treatment and control groups. Students in both groups receive pretests at the beginning of the program and posttests at its completion. Most recently, we examined a multi-year snapshot of programmatic impact. We aggregated survey data from the 2005-9 school years and analyzed it utilizing hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicate that for early adolescents (middle school students), participation in VPP is associated with improvements relative to non-participants in peer support behavior, tolerance for aggressive behavior, and improvements in conflict resolution skills across a variety of areas. Specifically, relative to non-participants, early adolescent students who had VPP reported reductions in the use of verbally aggressive, physically aggressive, and antisocial conflict resolution tactics.

Additionally, results indicate that relative to a comparison group, middle adolescents (high school students) who participated in VPP reported improvements in their academic self-concept and community behavior. They also reported improvements in their conflict resolution skills across a variety of areas including verbally aggressive and antisocial conflict resolution tactics.

Below is a graph representing the effect of participating in VPP on middle adolescent students’ use of verbally aggressive conflict resolution strategies. As shown, over the course of the program period, students who participate in VPP report using fewer verbally aggressive conflict resolution strategies, while those who do not participate report using verbally aggressive conflict resolution strategies approximately as often as they did prior to the program.