Higher Achievement Program, Inc.

For at least 15 years, Higher Achievement has been operating at the vanguard of research and practice of middle school youth development. From a deep commitment to scholars' social emotional growth to a focus on academic growth, the organization has developed a strong reputation for effectively supporting students to and through high school.

The education sector has increasingly followed Higher Achievement's lead, evolving over the last two decades to focus on increased rigor and accountability in schools and the social emotional skills young people need for success. At the same time, students need more support than ever before as more jobs require a college degree. By 2020, 65% of all jobs will require a postsecondary credential, up from 40% in 2010.

To continue leading the charge toward better opportunities for scholars and greater prosperity for our communities, Higher Achievement has identified one crucial goal: to leverage its middle school programming to equip more scholars with the confidence and skills to make it to and through college. To achieve this goal, we aim to reach 1,800 scholars annually by 2020 and ensure that 100% of these scholars graduate high school and at least 65% earn a post-secondary credential, aligning Higher Achievement alumni with the future of work in the United States.

This bold goal responds directly to the needs expressed by scholars and parents. It will also require intensive work and increased investment to position Higher Achievement as the first step on the path to college.

Higher Achievement specializes in boosting academic success for youth during the pivotal middle school years, addressing educational and social needs by providing rigorous academics and meaningful relationships at the right time: middle school. Through our “three R's" strategy, Higher Achievement is uniquely serving the academic and social-emotional needs of our scholars:
RIGOR: Unlike many programs, Higher Achievement is year-round, and scholars commit to the program from 5th through 8th grades. Each year, scholars spend the equivalent of 600 additional hours learning an advanced curriculum aligned to state standards. Research generally shows that youth who attend programs with high levels of intensity (at least three days and multiple hours per day) have more positive outcomes.

RELATIONSHIPS: Higher Achievement showers scholars with meaningful relationships: two academic mentors each week, caring staff members, and a positive peer network. According to Public/Private Ventures (PPV), youth with at least one highly supportive relationship with an adult will do better than youth who lack this crucial support. Scholars grow to value their intentional long-term mentoring relationships.

RIGHT TIMING: Several studies have shown that a student's academic performance in middle school is a strong indicator of high school outcomes. Students experience significant social and emotional changes as academic expectations increase. Moreover, the Brookings Institution published a study demonstrating that adolescence is the time during which people are most likely to fall off track toward a middle class life. By intentionally intervening during the critical middle school years, Higher Achievement improves a scholar's chance of high school graduation and expands their educational and job opportunities.

These three strategies yield life-changing results. As mentioned above, 95% of our alumni go on to graduate high school on time. In today's ever-changing society, Higher Achievement continues to work with our scholars and their families to support their success, both in school and in life. Through our rigorous model, we are helping to prepare our scholars to be life-long learners and our future leaders.

Higher Achievement seeks to build a world where every child's promise and potential is realized, regardless of circumstances. To that end, the organization closes the opportunity gap during the pivotal middle school years, providing students in its four affiliate communities – Baltimore, MD; Pittsburgh, PA; Richmond, VA; and Washington, DC – with academic and social-emotional supports at an important moment in their development. Higher Achievement's proven model provides a rigorous year-round learning environment, caring role models, and a culture of high expectations, resulting in college-bound scholars with the character, confidence, and skills to succeed. On average, 95% of Higher Achievement scholars graduate high school on time and 63-64% of scholars show improved grades in math and English Language Arts (ELA).

Higher Achievement's success can be attributed in large part to its commitment to using rigorous evaluation and data to inform program development. The organization started its first randomized controlled trial (RCT) study in 2006, years before most other out-of-school time programs considered this type of research. Even today, Higher Achievement is among only 2% of nonprofits in the country to have undergone an RCT, and one of only 10% of those reporting statistically positive results. The results published by research partner MDRC in 2013 demonstrated that Higher Achievement has a statistically significant impact on math and reading test scores, family engagement, and top choice high school placement. With this strong evidence of impact, Higher Achievement secured a $12 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the US Department of Education in 2015. Higher Achievement has a measurable impact on the lives of middle school youth from low-income and underserved backgrounds across our four affiliate cities. Rigorous assessments consistently indicate that Higher Achievement scholars improve their grades, test scores, school attendance, and academic behaviors.

Higher Achievement is one of the only expanded learning programs in the country to conduct a randomized control trial that demonstrates the positive impact of its proven model. Published by MDRC in 2013, this six-year study revealed that Higher Achievement's academic impact is larger than other expanded learning programs in the United States. Specifically:

• Scholars demonstrated significant gains in math and improvements in reading equivalent to 48 and 30 additional days of learning, respectively.
• Math gains – a proven indicator for high school graduation – persist for years after scholars leave the program.

Importantly, the study revealed that scholars demonstrated academic gains only after two full years in the program, indicating the importance of keeping scholars engaged year after year.

Higher Achievement is currently undergoing a second RCT to continue learning from our scholars and alumni.

Our groundbreaking RCT study ultimately led Higher Achievement to track several key performance indicators (KPIs) crucial to ensuring that the organization continues to maximize its impact on its scholars and their families. These include:

• Scholars with gains in reading and math – In the 2016-17 school year, 65% of students improved or maintained A/B grades in English Language Arts and 63% of students improved or maintained A/B math grades.
• Scholars placed in top high schools – In the 2016-17 school year, 62% of scholars were placed in a Tier 1 Schools and/or college-preparatory high school programs.

These outcomes translate into scholars achieving success in high school, college, and beyond. Over the next three years, the organization will build on its already proven-effective model by deepening impact in five areas that research shows are at the heart of students' success in college. Specifically, Higher Achievement is committed to:

1. Social-Emotional Skills Development: Intentionally cultivating social-emotional skills linked to college persistence, including goal-setting, sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and engagement in school through refined curricula and training for mentors and staff;
2. Scholar Engagement: Differentiating programming for young (5th/6th grades) and older (7th/8th grades) scholars to encourage multi-year engagement and focus on college preparation;
3. Alumni Engagement: Supporting Higher Achievement alumni through partnerships and tracking their progress to and through college;
4. Mentorship: Matching mentors and scholars based on shared interests and compatibility to further leverage the benefits of sustained mentorship;
5. Expertise & Influence: Informing and influencing the national out-of-school time and college pipeline sectors by sharing the organization's best-practice tools and strategies with other organizations.

These changes will improve scholar recruitment and retention by establishing a pathway that begins at a critical point in scholars' academic and emotional development and leads to earning a college degree.