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School Transitional Environmental Program (STEP)

Pre-K to 12 Education
  Literature review updated September 2020.

The School Transitional Environmental Program (STEP) is a program designed to reduce poor educational outcomes that result from the middle school to high school transition. STEP targets students transitioning from elementary and middle schools to large urban junior high and high schools in lower-income neighborhoods. STEP is a two year program that seeks to decrease student anonymity and problem behavior, increase accountability, and enhance students’ ability to learn rules and expectations. STEP creates smaller learning environments within larger schools thereby providing a stable set of classmates for transitioning students to work alongside. By securing the students into these small groups, the expectation is that students will show improved academic behavior and self-esteem and reduced anxiety. The homeroom teachers for these small groups provide schedule assistance, academic counseling, and counseling for personal problems.
 
ALL
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on 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 on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change 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. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
ES SE Age ES p-value
Grade point average
Non-standardized measure of student performance calculated across subjects.
14 1 1204 0.127 0.062 15 0.127 0.039
Anxiety disorder
Clinical diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (e.g., general anxiety, panic, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder) or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 14 1 1204 0.020 0.062 15 0.020 0.744
Major depressive disorder
Clinical diagnosis of major depression or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 14 1 1204 0.027 0.062 15 0.027 0.660
Delinquent behavior
Criminal or delinquent behavior that occurs outside of formal involvement with the justice system (i.e., behavior that does not result in arrests, charges, convictions, incarcerations) for young people.  
14 1 1204 0.047 0.062 15 0.047 0.450

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Felner, R.D., Brand, S., Adan, A.M., Mulhall, P.F., Flowers, N., Sartain, B., & Dubois, D.L. (1994). Restructuring the ecology of the school as an approach to prevention during school transitions: Longitudinal follow-ups and extensions of the School Transitional Environment Project (STEP). Prevention in Human Services, 10(2), 103-136.