AARP Experience Corps is an evidence-based intervention. Research results include findings from an independent, rigorous study of more than 800 first-, second- and third-grade students at 23 urban schools in three cities.
Experience Corps mentors boost students' reading skills. — AARP EC Baltimore
Johns Hopkins University found:
- Better test scores: Third-graders scored significantly higher on a reading test, the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program, than children in the control schools.
- Better behavior: In schools with Experience Corps, referrals to the principal for classroom misbehavior decreased by half; referrals in other schools remained about the same.
- Teacher approval: Teachers and principals reported high satisfaction with Experience Corps.
Washington University of St. Louis/Mathematica Policy Research found:
- Improved literacy skills: 60 percent greater gains in two critical literacy skills, sounding out new words and reading comprehension.
- Classroom impact: Students with Experience Corps tutors get a boost in reading skills equivalent to the boost they would get from being assigned to a classroom with 40 percent fewer children.
Washington University researchers document impact of AARP Experience Corps tutors on student progress and benefits of Experience Corps for tutors.
- Read the latest research from Literacy Research and Instruction
- Read the latest research from Education and Urban Society
- Read the full report on student impact
- Watch the video! Learn more about the impact of Experience Corps
- Watch the video! Learn about the member benefits of Experience Corps
- Print the brief - The Volunteer Experience
- Print the brief - Methodology of Member Outcomes Study
- Print the brief - Experience Corps: Who Are the Members?
- Print the brief - Experience Corps: Changes in Activity Associated with Participation
Johns Hopkins University researchers document AARP Experience Corps impact.
Students earn significantly higher test scores while tutors realize improvements in mental and physical health. Results point to cost-effective "win-win" for students, schools and community.
- Read the latest research in the American Journal of Public Health
- Read the latest research from the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, December 2009
- Read the latest research from the Journal of Urban Health, July 2009
- Read a full study published in the Journal of Urban Health, 2004
Experience Corps in Urban Elementary Schools: A Survey of Principals
AARP Experience Corps boosts student academic achievement, according to an independent survey by Policy Studies Associates, and principals welcome the program into their schools. "Principals, coping with the press of ever-rising academic expectations and administrative challenges, have no time for programs that do not serve their purposes," notes the report. "Experience Corps has won their allegiance and respect."
