The intent of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of an after school math program on raising student achievement on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA). Regular education students were selected based on a review of their fourth grade standardized test, and the trend in their yearly Terra Nova scores from 5th , 6th and 7th grade, if available. Based on a proficient score of 200, students who scored in the range of 185 to 210 were invited to attend the eighteen-week after school program. In addition, all special education students were invited to attend. Forty-five students elected to participate in the voluntary program.
Students took a pretest at the onset of the program and a posttest at the conclusion and results were tabulated and analyzed. The results supported the continuation of the after school program for both populations of students. The percentage change calculation in student scores on the pretest and posttest provided evidence of the program's effectiveness. One major variable, student participation rate was analyzed to help determine the relationship between performance and attendance. The data suggests that those students who attended greater than fifty percent of the time showed a marked improvement over those students who attended less than fifty percent.
","abstract_html":"<p>The intent of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of an after school math program on raising student achievement on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA). Regular education students were selected based on a review of their fourth grade standardized test, and the trend in their yearly Terra Nova scores from 5<sup>th</sup> , 6<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup> grade, if available. Based on a proficient score of 200, students who scored in the range of 185 to 210 were invited to attend the eighteen-week after school program. In addition, all special education students were invited to attend. Forty-five students elected to participate in the voluntary program.</p> <p>Students took a pretest at the onset of the program and a posttest at the conclusion and results were tabulated and analyzed. The results supported the continuation of the after school program for both populations of students. The percentage change calculation in student scores on the pretest and posttest provided evidence of the program's effectiveness. One major variable, student participation rate was analyzed to help determine the relationship between performance and attendance. The data suggests that those students who attended greater than fifty percent of the time showed a marked improvement over those students who attended less than fifty percent.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Costigan, Denise J."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Learning Disabilities","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Urban, Stanley"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-05-09T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-05-09T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:52Z","subjects":["After-school programs--New Jersey; Mathematical ability--Testing","Disability and Equity in Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/983","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Urban, Stanley"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Costigan, Denise J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-04-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Learning Disabilities"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["After-school programs--New Jersey; Mathematical ability--Testing","Disability and Equity in Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/983"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The intent of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of an after school math program on raising student achievement on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA). Regular education students were selected based on a review of their fourth grade standardized test, and the trend in their yearly Terra Nova scores from 5th , 6th and 7th grade, if available. Based on a proficient score of 200, students who scored in the range of 185 to 210 were invited to attend the eighteen-week after school program. In addition, all special education students were invited to attend. Forty-five students elected to participate in the voluntary program.
Students took a pretest at the onset of the program and a posttest at the conclusion and results were tabulated and analyzed. The results supported the continuation of the after school program for both populations of students. The percentage change calculation in student scores on the pretest and posttest provided evidence of the program's effectiveness. One major variable, student participation rate was analyzed to help determine the relationship between performance and attendance. The data suggests that those students who attended greater than fifty percent of the time showed a marked improvement over those students who attended less than fifty percent.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Investigation into the effects of an after school GEPA math program in raising student achievement"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Urban, Stanley"],"dc:creator":["Costigan, Denise J."],"dc:date.available":["2016-04-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The intent of this paper is to determine the effectiveness of an after school math program on raising student achievement on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA). Regular education students were selected based on a review of their fourth grade standardized test, and the trend in their yearly Terra Nova scores from 5th , 6th and 7th grade, if available. Based on a proficient score of 200, students who scored in the range of 185 to 210 were invited to attend the eighteen-week after school program. In addition, all special education students were invited to attend. Forty-five students elected to participate in the voluntary program.
Students took a pretest at the onset of the program and a posttest at the conclusion and results were tabulated and analyzed. The results supported the continuation of the after school program for both populations of students. The percentage change calculation in student scores on the pretest and posttest provided evidence of the program's effectiveness. One major variable, student participation rate was analyzed to help determine the relationship between performance and attendance. The data suggests that those students who attended greater than fifty percent of the time showed a marked improvement over those students who attended less than fifty percent.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/983"],"dc:subject":["After-school programs--New Jersey; Mathematical ability--Testing","Disability and Equity in Education"],"dc:title":["Investigation into the effects of an after school GEPA math program in raising student achievement"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Learning Disabilities"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:52Z"}