The Young People’s Project: Executive Summary

Evaluators sought to determine impact on math attitude and content knowledge of students (3rd - 6th grade), and math literacy workers (high school and college students), based on pre-post testing and observation of YPP after school programs, in which college and high school students teach math games to elementary and middle school students in marginalized and vulnerable communities. The study focused on the Chicago YPP site, 1 of 7 in the YPP national network. Increases in math attitude scores were not statistically significant, however in some instances evaluators found significant increases in math content scores of students and math literacy workers. In spite of the of the test data, evaluators concluded that YPP is a "vital catalyst for developing both the interest and the requisite mathematical skills for students to be mathematically literate", and that YPP's near peer teaching model enables young people to form connections that "provide the essential architecture and support for ensuring that these communities’ most essential resource, their children, not only successfully complete their education but also become[sic] more math literate, responsible, and conscientious citizens."