"Many
(of our) counselors have collected data on changes
in student behavior and school performance. The positive
results are impressive.
I give Christian Moore and the Why Try program my highest recommendation.
. ."
WhyTry Inc. is committed to on-going research into the
efficacy of the WhyTry Program, and to applying that research
to the development and enhancement of the Program. WhyTry
encourages all professionals using the Program to track
their outcomes and share their results here and in professional
publications. For more information about any of these studies please email info@whytry.org.
Results for the South Los Angeles Resiliency (SOLAR) Project, April 2008
The South Los Angeles Resiliency (SOLAR) Project is an elementary counseling demonstration grant funded for three years by the US Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. A Resilience Scale was formed combining the survey items. A paired t-test was used to compare pre-post test scores. A significant difference was found between the scores indicating that student resiliency increased for participants of “Why Try?” Specifically, a significant positive change was found in the students’ willingness to “keep trying to succeed;” a significant decrease in the desire to be “mean to others” when provoked; and a slight improvement in the areas of “asking for help” was noted. Results presented at the SSWAA Conference, April 5, 2008, by Alejandra Acuña,, LCSW, Lorena Vega, LCSW, Joyce Meza, MSW, Martha Marquez, LCSW, and Deyanira Vera, LCSW.
Piedmont, Missouri Study, Winter 2007
“The WhyTry Tutoring has proven to be a vehicle for working toward student success. By coupling Christian Moore’s multi-sensory, strength-based program with tutoring, we have seen more students take positive steps toward academic success than we have experienced through tutoring alone.” Wymore, Sherie, “WhyTry? A report of an After-School Tutoring Program,” (Winter 2007) The Counseling Interviewer, Vol. 39, No. 2, Pp. 9-13.
Yakima School District Learning Center Results, March 2007
Norm Walker, an instructor at the Yakima School District Learning Center, tracked the results of his WhyTry class from October, 2006 through March 2007. He documented a 33% increase in the cumulative GPA of students participating in the WhyTry Program. The alternative education students he was working with rated the WhyTry class experience 7.96 out of 10.
Alpine
School District Longitudinal Study December, 2003
The data summarized is based on 114 students who completed
WhyTry Program at Pleasant Grove High School starting with
the first WhyTry class in August, 2000. The control group
consists of 88 students selected with the same academic
and attendance profile as the WhyTry students at the start
of each class. Both groups have been tracked since the
WhyTry class was completed, for up to 12 terms.
Students
who completed the WhyTry Program showed a significant
improvement in GPA, completing their high school
careers with GPA’s 0.62 points higher than
the control group.
Students
who completed the WhyTry Program had fewer absences
than the control group, both cumulatively, and on
average.
Students
who completed the WhyTry Program exhibited a significant
reduction in failed courses as compared to the control
group.
The
WhyTry students and the control group were drawn
from the same pool of at-risk students. At the end
of their high school careers, the WhyTry participants
were 3 times more likely to graduate than the control
group.
Summary
The
WhyTry Program appears to have a positive effect
on academic performance, attendance and graduation.
This is consistent with other research projects
studying the effects of the WhyTry Program. The
effects of the WhyTry Program also appear to increase
over time. More longitudinal data will be forthcoming
as these students continue their high school careers.
Los
Angeles County Office of Education October, 2003
This study was conducted by Glade D. Eggett, a doctoral
candidate at Nova Southeastern University, working
for the Division of Alternative Education of the Los
Angeles Office of Education.
Glade studied the effects of the WhyTry on the behavior
of students in an alternative high school. The study
consisted of a class of primarily African American
and Latin American students, with a control group with
the same demographics in the same school. Students
were taught the WhyTry Program for two hours in each
academic day for one term. Behavior was tracked weekly
and compared to the control group.
After
one semester, Glade concluded:
“Using
a program called WhyTry…Students who participated
in the program were more likely to have less attendance
problems, lower negative attitude toward teachers and
school, and a higher locus of control indicating they…were
more personally responsible for their behavior.
Teachers rated a significant improvement in motivational
attributes.”
Granite
School District September, 2003
A study was conducted
by Spectrum Consulting for the Granite School District
in Utah. Dr. Eric J. Gee, Director of Research and
Evaluation, reported the results to the school district.
Rather than studying behaviors, this study focused
on students understanding and insight into their behaviors.
Dr. Gee concluded that students participating in the
WhyTry Program reported significantly improved understanding
of key social and emotional principles, including self-motivation,
consequences, peer pressure, and obeying laws and rules.
“Analysis of the responses found statistically
significant differences between the experimental and
control groups for all questions. This would suggest
that students in the control group did indeed feel
they had gained more knowledge regarding some of the
information presented in the WhyTry Program. Given
the control group comparisons, we can attribute this
change in knowledge to the WhyTry Program,” wrote
Dr. Gee.
