Exploring the relationships between LA's BEST program attendance and cognitive gains of LA's BEST students

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of participation in the Los Angeles Better Educated Students for Tomorrow (LA’s BEST) after-school program on positive achievement outcomes in math and English-language arts. A quasi-experimental design was utilized, and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed to examine the relations between intensity of program participation and achievement outcomes across four years of data using two cohorts of students. Results revealed that regular attendance (over 100 days per year) in the LA’s BEST after-school program led to higher achievement in California Standards Test (CST) math performance, but not in CST English-language arts performance. Therefore, LA’s BEST can improve their program outcomes in math by setting program structures, activities, and policies to encourage all students to attend regularly.