SSS

Student Support Services

SAMHSA Model Programs: Model Prevention Programs Supporting Academic Achievement

SAMHSA Model Programs offers a number of programs that directly address or indirectly affect risk and protective factors related to school performance. Primarily designed to prevent or reduce substance abuse, violence, and other high-risk behaviors, Model Programs also improve reading, written expression, and math skills; increase school attendance and school bonding; and reduce school failure.

In general, Model Programs demonstrate that by improving the overall social and behavioral functioning of children and youth, enhancing parental and family competence, and reducing exposure to or participation in substance use, they positively affect students’ academic performance. However, some Model Programs include academic outcome measures in their research evaluations and can document specific academic achievement outcomes in participants: a persuasive testament to school administrators that implementing a Model Programs is worth the extra administrative and teacher time and expense. Model Program academic outcome measures and proven outcomes include:


  •          Improved grades
  •          Higher rates of next-grade promotion
  •          Increased grade point average
  •          Improved graduation rates
  •          Improved reading, math, and writing skills
  •          Improved standardized test scores
  •          Increased credits earned
  •          Increased child developmental levels (for very young children)

In addition to academic achievement outcomes, these programs also display other outcome measures related to school performance. These include:


  •          Decreased absenteeism/improved attendance
  •          Decreased high-school drop out
  •          Increased parental involvement in child’s school
  •          Fewer out-of-school suspensions
  •          Fewer in-grade retentions

  •          Fewer special education referrals
  •          Fewer school behavioral incidents
  •          Improved social competence and play skills in very young children
  •          Greater participation in after-school and learning activities

All SAMHSA Model Programs with documented academic achievement outcomes are comprehensive, and most are multicomponent, involving school and the family. Although most programs with academic achievement outcomes are designed for elementary grades, some are for preschool children and middle school youth, and one is for high school youth.

 

The accompanying chart, Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs, describes each SAMHSA Model Program that has proven academic achievement outcomes and provides information about both, specific academic achievement outcomes and other outcomes related to school performance.


Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs

Program Description

Academic Achievement

and Other Outcomes

Related to School Performance

Other Problem Behavior Reduction

Across Ages: a school and community-based drug prevention program for youth 9 to 13 years old that seeks to strengthen the bonds between adults and youth and provide opportunities for positive community involvement. It pairs older adult mentors with young adolescents making the transition to middle school. It aims to increase knowledge of health and substance abuse and foster healthy attitudes; improve school bonding and academic performance, strengthen relationships with adults and peers, and enhance problem solving and decision making skills.

The level of mentor involvement was positively related to:

  •          Improved grades
  •          Increased school attendance
  •          Decreased suspensions from school
  •          Improved attitudes towards school

The level of mentor involvement was positively related to:

  •          Decreased alcohol and tobacco use
  •          Improved attitudes toward adults in general and older adults in particular

CASASTART: a community-based, school-centered program designed to keep high risk 8 to 13 year old youth free of drug and crime involvement. It is based on the assumption that while all pre-adolescents are vulnerable to experimentation with substances, those who lack effective human and social support are especially vulnerable. CASASTART seeks to build resiliency in the youth, strengthen families, and make neighborhoods safer for children and their families. It promotes collaboration among the key stakeholders in a community or neighborhood, and provides case managers to work on a daily basis with high-risk children and youth.

Compared with the control group, children who participated in the program reported significantly higher levels of:

  •          Promotion to the next grade over the 3 years of the study
  •          Participation in after school and learning activities

Compared to the control group, children who participated in the program were:

  •          20% less likely to use drugs in the past 30 days
  •          60% less likely to sell drugs
  •          20% less likely to commit violent acts

 

Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs

Program Description

Academic Achievement

and other outcomes

related to school performance

Problem Behavior Reductions in other areas

Child Development Project (CDP)*: a school wide improvement program that helps elementary schools become “caring communities of learners” for their students, 5 to 12 years old. Phase II consists of two modules:

  • (1)    SIPPS (Systematic Instruction in Phoneme Awareness, Phonics, and Sight words) that develops word recognition strategies and skills
  • (2)    Making Meaning: Strategies that Build Comprehension and Character, a module that teaches eight reading comprehension strategies and integrates academic, ethical, and social development throughout

*This program is currently being modified and that modification is under evaluation.

Compared to control school counterparts, students showed:

  •          24% stronger academic motivation
  •          8% higher more frequent reading of books outside of school
  •          33% greater sense of the school as a caring community
  •         12% more liking for school

 

Upon reaching middle school, students from CDP schools showed:

  •          25% higher achievement test scores
  •          An average ½ point higher grades in core academic classes
  •          18% higher educational aspirations
  •          19% less misconduct in school
  •          19% more liking for school
  •          18% greater trust in and respect for teachers

Among fifth and sixth grade students in schools that fully implemented CDP:

  •          Alcohol use declined from 48% to 37% of students
  •          Cigarette use declined from 25% to 17% of students
  •          Marijuana use declined from 7% to 5% of students
  •          Other risky behaviors declined, including carrying weapons, threats of violence, and involvement in “gang fights.”

Upon reaching middle school students showed:

  •          13% less delinquent behavior
  •          20% higher involvement in positive activities such as sports, clubs and youth groups

 

DARE To Be You: a primary prevention program for children 2 to 5 years old and their families, designed to improve parental child- management skills and parental competence and satisfaction; improve relationships between children and their families; and boost children’s developmental levels.

Compared to a control group, this program increased child developmental levels and maintained them for at least 2 years.

Compared to the control group:

  •         Increased parental effectiveness and satisfaction
  •          Increased appropriate parental limit setting
  •          Decreased parent-child blaming and harsh punishment

Better child self-management and family communication reported by families

Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs

Program Description

Academic Achievement

and other outcomes

related to school performance

Problem Behavior Reductions in other areas

Early Risers: Skills for Success: a multicomponent program for elementary school children 6 to 10 years old who are at high risk for early development of conduct problems, including substance use. It focuses on child social skills training; family support and consultation; parent-school consultation; contingency management of aggressive, disruptive, and non-compliant child behavior; reading and math instruction; and educational enrichment activities.

  •      High-risk children whose parents received 50% or more of recommended parent home visiting contact time showed higher rates of improvement on academic achievement.
  •      Compared to high-risk control participants, high-risk program participants made significant improvements in academic achievement, with this effect primarily evident in gains in basic reading skills. This effect held true for boys and girls.

Relative to comparisons:

  •          Significant gains in social competence, including improved social skills and social adaptability
  •          Children with the most severe aggressive behavior showed significant reductions in self-regulation problems
  •          Children whose parents achieved recommended levels of participation reported less parental distress and improved methods for disciplining children.

 

The Incredible Years Training Series: a program to promote emotional and social competence, and to prevent, reduce and treat behavioral and emotional problems in young children 2 to 8 years old. It focuses on children with high rates of aggressive behavior and provides three developmentally based curricula for parents, teachers, and children.

Two randomized control group evaluations indicated that the child training series:

  •          Significantly increased children’s appropriate cognitive problem-solving strategies
  •          Increased children’s social competence and appropriate play skills
  •          Reduced conduct problems at home and school.

 

Two randomized control group evaluations indicated that The Incredible Years series increased children’s use of prosocial conflict management strategies with peers.

 

 

 

 

Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs

Program Description

Academic Achievement

and other outcomes

related to school performance

Problem Behavior Reductions in other areas

Leadership and Resiliency Program: a school and community based program for high school students 14 to19 years old that enhances the internal strengths and resiliency of participant youth through weekly group meetings, alternative outdoor activities, and community service.

Program participants realized:

  •          An increase of 0.8 in grade point average, based on a 4.0 scale
  •          100% graduation rates
  •          Extremely high percentage of participants either became employed or pursued post-secondary education
  •          60% to 70% increase in school attendance
  •          65 % to 70% reduction in school behavioral incidents
  •          Increased sense of school bonding

 

Increases knowledge of and negative attitudes about substance abuse and violence.

PATHS (Providing Alternative THinking Strategies): a comprehensive program for promoting emotional and social competencies and reducing aggression and acting-out behaviors in elementary-school-aged children (5 to 12 years old), while simultaneously enhancing the educational process in the classroom.

Cognitive testing indicates that PATHS leads to improvements in the following skills:

  •          In normal and special-needs children, the ability to plan ahead to solve complex tasks with
  •          Cognitive flexibility and low impulsivity with non-verbal tasks
  •          Improved reading achievement for young deaf children.
  •          20% increase in students’ scores on cognitive skills tests

In various studies, PATHS has shown a:

  •          32% reduction in teachers’ reports of students exhibiting aggressive behavior
  •          36% increase in teachers’ reports of students exhibiting self-control
  •          68% increase in students’ vocabulary for expressing emotions
  •          Significant improvement in students’ ability to tolerate frustration
  •          Significant improvement in students’ ability and willingness to use effective conflict resolution strategies.

 

 

 

Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs

Program Description

Academic Achievement

and other outcomes

related to school performance

Problem Behavior Reductions in other areas

Positive Action: a comprehensive and coherent program that improves academic achievement and multiple behaviors of children and adolescents. It is intensive and extensive, with lessons at each grade level (K-12) that can be reinforced all day, school-wide, after school, at home and in the community. There are kits for teachers on each grade level, for in school and after school, school- wide climate kits, counselor’s kit, and family and community kits. All components can stand-alone, are useful in a variety of settings, easy to use, are completely planned and prepared, and ready for use. Effects cover multiple behaviors: decreasing substance use, violence, disruptive and other negative behaviors, and improving academic performance.

 

In studies completed in several States:

  •          Academic achievement improved 12% to 65%
  •          General discipline improved by 23% to 90%
  •          Absenteeism decreased between 6% and 45%
  •          32% to 75% fewer absentees of 21 days or more (middle school)
  •          Truancy decreased by 14% to 20%
  •          Suspensions were reduced 8% to 81%
  •          37% lower high school dropout rate
  •          High school graduates 28% more likely to obtain higher education

Data from a study in Nevada found that, compared to the control group, students scored 16% higher on their fourth-grade achievement scores. Similarly, in Hawaii, Positive Action (PA) schools reported 52% better SAT scores. PA elementary schools in a large Florida school district reported 45% better scores on the Florida Reading Test compared to non-PA schools. The Florida study showed that results are sustained through secondary school. Middle schools containing >60% of PA “graduates” reported 18% higher proportions of students coring above average on 8th grade NRT reading and math combined. High schools with 27% to 50% of PA “graduates” reported 9% to 15% improved achievement scores on five different standardized tests.

  •          Violence and substance abuse reduced 26% to 56%
  •          Self-concept improved up to 43%
  •          85% fewer violent incidents per 1000 students (Nevada study, equally in schools with high versus low minority and mobility populations)
  •          76% fewer disciplinary problems compared to non-PA Schools (Hawaii study, where effects were stronger in high-poverty schools)
  •          68% fewer violent incidents than non-PA schools (Florida study)

Florida middle schools with >60% PA “graduates” reported:

  •          70% fewer incidents or substance use per 100 students
  •          70% fewer violence-related incidents per 100 students (threats, fights, battery, and weapons possession; equally good results in high-risk schools)
  •          52% less property crime (stronger effects in higher mobility schools)

Florida high schools with 27% to 50% PA “graduates” reported:

  •         50% less violence
  •         30% fewer in-school suspensions

 

Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs

Program Description

Academic Achievement

and other outcomes

related to school performance

Problem Behavior Reductions in other areas

Project ACHIEVE: a school reform and school effectiveness program for use in preschool, elementary and middle schools, with students 3 to 14 years old. It works to improve school and staff effectiveness and emphasizes increasing student performance in areas of social skills and social-emotional development; conflict resolution and self-management; achievement and academic progress; and positive school climate and safe school practices.

A comparison of prior-year data with the averages from 8 years of program implementation at one of the studied schools showed academic gains on the California Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), including:

  •          Reading CTBS: 33% of the full project cohort students scored at or above the 50th percentile compared to 29% of the partial project cohort.
  •          Math CTBS: 40% of the full project cohort students scored at or above the 50th percentile compared to 36% of the partial project cohort students.
  •          Language CTBS: 41% of the full project cohort students scored at or above the 50th percentile compared to 36% of the partial project cohort students.

There is also longitudinal outcome data from three schools that have implemented Project ACHIEVE.

 

In addition, this study showed that:

  •          Out of school suspensions decreased 29%
  •          Grade retentions decreased 47%
  •          Special education referrals decreased 61%
  •          Special education placements decreased 57%
  •          Disciplinary referrals to the principal’s office
  •          School bus disciplinary referrals decreased

 

 


Academic Achievement Outcomes Documented in SAMHSA Model Programs

Program Description

Academic Achievement

and other outcomes

related to school performance

Problem Behavior Reductions in other areas

Reconnecting Youth: a school-based prevention program for youth 14 to 19 years old in grades 9 through 12 who are at risk for school dropout. It uses a partnership model involving peers, school personnel, and parents to address three program goals: decreased drug involvement, increased school performance, and decreased emotional distress.

Relative to controls, high-risk youth participating in the program evidenced:

  •          18% improvement in grades in all classes
  •          7.5% increase in credits earned per semester
  •          Decrease in trend of daily class absences (ditching)
  •          26% drop out rate v. a 39% dropout rate for controls

Relative to controls, high-risk youth participating in the program evidenced:

  •          54% decrease in hard drug use
  •          48% decrease in anger and aggression problems
  •         32% decrease in perceived stress
  •          23% increase in self-efficacy

SAFE Children: a community- and school-based program that helps families manage educational development and child development in communities where children are at high risk for substance abuse and other problem behaviors. It aims to build support networks among parents, develop parenting skills, give parents a better understand of schools and how they work, and ensure that children have the skills to master basic reading when they enter first grade.

Children in the program showed steeper growth in academic achievement over a 24-month period than children in the control group. By follow up at the beginning of second grade, the reading scores of children in the program were at a level approximate to the national average and “ 4 months ahead” of those in the control group.

 

At follow up, parents in the program were still maintaining involvement in their children’s school life, instead of showing the typical pattern of a severe drop-off.

  •          Parents used more effective parenting practices
  •          Parents reported greater use of home rules and family organization strategies
  •         Children’s social competence increased

 

Last Updated: December 29, 2010