The effects of a special intervention program on socioeconomically disadvantaged children

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of the first three years of a special ongoing intervention program on the academic performance and attitudes of 8th grade participants. Academic growth and current attitudes of students in the program were compared with academic growth and attitudes of a similar group of eighth-grade students. A third group of students was used for comparison purposes. All students involved in the study were eighth-grade students enrolled in a midwestern school district.Major conclusions derived from the findings included: Grade point averages for participants in a Special Intervention Program were significantly higher than CPA's for similar non-participants. In fact, CPA's for Program participants were not significantly different from CPA's for the completely random sample.California Achievement Test scores for participants in a Special Intervention Program were significantly higher than CAT scores for similar non-participants. In fact, CAT, scores for Program participants were not significantly different from CAT scores for the completely random sample.Participation in a Special Intervention Program did not significantly affect students' school attendance, punctuality, or Behavior Rating Profile Scores inasmuch as there were no significant differences between any of the groups studied for those variables.