Student Outcomes
What do students get out of their Horizons experience?
Their reading and math skills improve significantly, and they return to their schools excited to learn. They graduate from high school and go on to college or other post-secondary training. Horizons students develop life skills like commitment, persistence, and the desire to contribute to their community. With the tools to navigate their world, Horizons students embrace a more expansive view of what’s possible, and find a path of success.
How do you measure success?
Horizons has a long history of program evaluation. Over each six-week summer session, Horizons Philadelphia students show consistent gains in reading and math of 2-3 months, as measured by pre-post standardized assessments. Student growth is reported using a three-year average. Students are tested in Early Literacy, Reading, and Math at the beginning and end of the six weeks, and their results are measured in months of growth.
In 2019, Horizons Greater Philadelphia programs recorded an average daily attendance rate of 91% and an average retention rate of 82%.
At Horizons, we capture a broad range of information and use that data for continuous improvement. Since 1995, Horizons National has worked closely with third-party evaluators and education data companies, including Yale University, Amplify, and Renaissance Learning, to assess the effectiveness of the program. Key findings demonstrate that Horizons students, who represent a broad range of learning styles and ability, achieve success in school and beyond:
- Consistent gains of 8-12 weeks grade equivalence in reading and math over each 6-week summer session
- High school graduation rate of 99%
- Increased school attendance, and improved self-esteem
