First Step to Success

Pre-K to 12 Education
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2023. Literature review updated March 2020.

First Step to Success (First Step) is an early intervention program for elementary-aged students with severe or moderate behavioral problems who are at-risk for repeating a grade.

First Step is a collaborative in-school and at-home program delivered to children identified as having behavioral problems by their primary teacher. When a student is at school, behavior coaches (either a school psychologist, counselor, behavior specialist, or resource teacher trained in First Step) and teachers provide visual cues to indicate when the participating student is on-task and exhibiting appropriate behaviors. Students may earn points and receive rewards if they meet their daily goals. In the home-based component, the behavior coach conducts six weekly home-visits and works with families to teach parenting skills and encourage collaboration between the home and the school. On average, First Step lasts for three months.

ALL	BENEFIT-COST	META-ANALYSIS	CITATIONS

For an overview of WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Model, please see this guide. The estimates shown are present value, life cycle benefits and costs. All dollars are expressed in the base year chosen for this analysis (2022). The chance the benefits exceed the costs are derived from a Monte Carlo risk analysis. The details on this, as well as the economic discount rates and other relevant parameters are described in our Technical Documentation.

Benefits to:

Taxpayers	($159)	Benefits minus costs	($1,791)
Participants	($374)	Benefit to cost ratio	($1.53)
Others	($197)	Chance the program will produce
Indirect	($354)	benefits greater than the costs	47%
Total benefits	($1,084)
Net program cost	($707)
Benefits minus cost	($1,791)

^{^}WSIPP’s benefit-cost model does not monetize this outcome.

^{^^}WSIPP does not include this outcome when conducting benefit-cost analysis for this program.

**Meta-analysis** is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic in order to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The **outcomes** measured are the types of program impacts that were measured in the research literature (for example, crime or educational attainment). **Treatment N** represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An **effect size** (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information.

**Adjusted effect sizes** are used to calculate the benefits from our benefit cost model. WSIPP may adjust effect sizes based on methodological characteristics of the study. For example, we may adjust effect sizes when a study has a weak research design or when the program developer is involved in the research. The magnitude of these adjustments varies depending on the topic area.

WSIPP may also adjust the second ES measurement. Research shows the magnitude of some effect sizes decrease over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments which we apply between the **first time ES is estimated** and the **second time ES is estimated**. We also report the **unadjusted effect size** to show the effect sizes before any adjustments have been made. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.
Outcomes measured	Treatment age	Primary or secondary participant	No. of effect sizes	Treatment N	Adjusted effect sizes(ES) and standard errors(SE) used in the benefit - cost analysis						Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
					First time ES is estimated			Second time ES is estimated			Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
					ES	SE	Age	ES	SE	Age	ES	p-value
Disruptive behavior disorder symptoms^{^^} Clinical diagnosis of a disruptive behavior disorder (e.g., conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder) or symptoms measured on a validated scale.	7	Primary	2	46	-0.346	0.217	7	n/a	n/a	n/a	-0.797	0.003
Social and emotional development^{^} A broad range of skills relevant to self, emotion, and relationships. These skills are typically measured through validated assessments that measure self-awareness, social competence, and self-control.	7	Primary	3	276	0.164	0.105	7	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.390	0.031
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms^{^^} Clinical diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or symptoms measured on a validated scale.	7	Primary	1	23	-0.402	0.313	7	n/a	n/a	n/a	-0.936	0.004
Internalizing symptoms^{^^} Symptoms of internalizing behavior (e.g., sadness, anxiety, or withdrawal) measured on a validated scale.	7	Primary	1	23	0.009	0.298	7	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.021	0.945
Test scores Standardized, validated tests of academic achievement.	7	Primary	2	243	-0.007	0.113	7	-0.003	0.125	17	-0.017	0.882

¹In addition to the outcomes measured in the meta-analysis table, WSIPP measures benefits and costs estimated from other outcomes associated with those reported in the evaluation literature. For example, empirical research demonstrates that high school graduation leads to reduced crime. These associated measures provide a more complete picture of the detailed costs and benefits of the program.

²“Others” includes benefits to people other than taxpayers and participants. Depending on the program, it could include reductions in crime victimization, the economic benefits from a more educated workforce, and the benefits from employer-paid health insurance.

³“Indirect benefits” includes estimates of the net changes in the value of a statistical life and net changes in the deadweight costs of taxation.
Affected outcome:	Resulting benefits:¹	Benefits accrue to:
Detailed Monetary Benefit Estimates Per Participant
		Taxpayers	Participants	Others²	Indirect³	Total

Test scores	Labor market earnings associated with test scores	($159)	($374)	($197)	$0	($730)

Program cost	Adjustment for deadweight cost of program	$0	$0	$0	($354)	($354)

Totals		($159)	($374)	($197)	($354)	($1,084)

Click here to see populations selected

Populations - Primary
Type	Selection
Crime	All people All people with or without prior ciminal justice system involvement
Education	All students A general population of students (i.e., all students in a school or in a classroom)
ADHD	General population All people
Earnings	General population All people
Internalizing	General population All children
Externalizing	General population All children

Annual cost		Year dollars	Summary
Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Program costs	$500	2005	Present value of net program costs (in 2022 dollars)	($707)
Comparison costs	$0	2005	Cost range (+ or -)	20%

The per-participant cost estimate includes program materials and behavior coach time, as documented in Walker, H.M., Golly, A., McLane, J.Z., & Kimmich, M. (2005). The Oregon First Step to Success replication initiative: Statewide results of an evaluation of program's impact. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 13(3), 163–172.

The figures shown are estimates of the costs to implement programs in Washington. The comparison group costs reflect either no treatment or treatment as usual, depending on how effect sizes were calculated in the meta-analysis. The cost range reported above reflects potential variation or uncertainty in the cost estimate; more detail can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Benefits Minus Costs

Benefits by Perspective

Taxpayer Benefits by Source of Value

Benefits Minus Costs Over Time (Cumulative Discounted Dollars)

The graph above illustrates the estimated cumulative net benefits per-participant for the first fifty years beyond the initial investment in the program. We present these cash flows in discounted dollars. If the dollars are negative (bars below $0 line), the cumulative benefits do not outweigh the cost of the program up to that point in time. The program breaks even when the dollars reach $0. At this point, the total benefits to participants, taxpayers, and others, are equal to the cost of the program. If the dollars are above $0, the benefits of the program exceed the initial investment.

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Frey, A.J., Small, J.W., Lee, J., Walker, H.M., Seeley, J.R., Feil, E.G., & Golly, A. (2015). Expanding the range of the First Step to Success intervention: Tertiary-level support for children, teachers, and families. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30, 1-11.

Seeley, J., Small, J., Walker, H., Feil, E., Severson, H., Golly, A., & Forness, S. (2009). Efficacy of the First Step to Success intervention for students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. School Mental Health, 1(1), 37-48.

Sumi, W.C., Woodbridge, M.W., Javitz, H.S., Thornton, S.P., Wagner, M., Rouspil, . . . & Severson, H.H. (2013). Assessing the effectiveness of First Step to Success: Are short-term results the first step to long-term behavioral improvements?. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 21(1), 66-78.

Walker, H.M., Kavanagh, K., Stiller, B., Golly, A., Severson, H.H., & Feil, E.D. (1998). First step to success: An early intervention approach for preventing school antisocial behavior. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 6(2), 66-80.

Woodbridge, M.W., Sumi, W.C., Wagner, M.M., Javitz, H.S., Seeley, J.R., Walker, H.M., . . . Severson, H.H. (2014). Does First Step to Success have long-term impacts on student behavior? An analysis of efficacy trial data. School Psychology Review, 43(3), 299-317.

First Step to Success

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Home

Publications

Benefit-Cost

Current Projects

Search