Quality-Outcomes Study for Seattle Public Schools Summer Programs, 2016 Program Cycle

During the summer of 2016, Seattle Public Schools (SPS), the Raikes Foundation, School’s Out Washington (SOWA), and the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality (Weikart Center) collaborated on a quality-outcomes study to both (a) describe performance in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) summer learning programs in ways that are useful to staff and (b) provide evaluative evidence (i.e., validity) for an instructional model that includes challenging academic content and responsive instructional practices. Summer program offerings were well-attended and characterized by high-quality instructional practices, with a majority of students increasing their literacy and math skills during the program. Findings about the association between exposure to more responsiveness instruction (e.g., quality) and academic skill change were mixed.