WWC Quick Review: Evaluation of the Kansas City CDF Freedom Schools® Initiative November 2008

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What is this study about?

This study examined whether Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools^® improve students’ reading assessment scores.

More than 3,000 kindergarten through eighth grade students in Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri participated in the study. These children attended one of 18 Kansas City churches that hosted the CDF Freedom Schools^® during the summers of 2005 through 2007.

The study examined data from standardized reading assessments that were collected during the first and last week of each summer session.

The study examined changes in reading assessment scores separately for 2,638 students who participated in the CDF Freedom Schools^® program and for 508 students who did not participate in the program.

What did the study authors report?

The study reported higher gains in reading assessment scores for students who participated in the CDF Freedom Schools^® program than for students who did not participate.

The WWC does not consider these results to be conclusive because there is no evidence that the research groups were equivalent initially. The reported differences between the groups might reflect differences in the students that are not related to the CDF Freedom Schools^® program.

WWC quick reviews are based on the evidence published in the report cited and rely on effect sizes and significance levels as reported by study authors. WWC does not confirm study authors’ findings or contact authors for additional information about the study. The WWC rating refers only to the results summarized above and not necessarily to all results presented in the study.