Personalized support boosts outcomes for low-income students
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Benjamin Goldman, Jamie Gracie, and Sonya Porter find that the Communities In Schools (CIS) program improves academic performance and long-term economic outcomes for students from low-income families in the U.S.
CIS places coordinators within high-poverty schools to connect students with individualized resources addressing academic, behavioral, and basic needs like mental health care and housing. The researchers used the program’s phased implementation across schools to measure its impact.
They discovered that CIS boosts test scores for students who were initially struggling, and these improvements continue to affect outcomes years later, increasing both high school graduation rates and future earnings. Importantly, the gains from CIS extend beyond test scores. While improved test performance accounted for around half the impact on high school graduation, the remainder stemmed from improvements in student behavior and attendance, so-called non-cognitive skills. This suggests that the program addresses a wide range of challenges students face.
Despite tailoring support to individual student needs, CIS achieves similar long-term gains across different types of challenges. This finding indicates the power of a consistent, supportive relationship with a trusted adult within the school environment, coupled with access to a network of services. The findings suggest a potentially effective and scalable approach to increasing economic mobility for vulnerable students.
