Raikes Foundation -

Tweens are facing life’s first great crossroad: the decisions they make today will last a lifetime.

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Research Supported by the Raikes Foundation

Teaching Adolescents To Become Learners: The Role of Noncognitive Factors in Shaping School Performance This report by the Consortium on Chicago School Research outlines a new framework for understanding how non-cognitive factors influence the behaviors that drive academic performance among middle and high school students.

Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century This report by the National Research Council clarifies the meaning of "Deeper Learning" and "21st Century Skills" while examining the impacts on key education, life and career outcomes.

Lessons for Youth Program Quality Improvement Initiatives This case study profiles the efforts of the YMCA of Greater Seattle as they began the process of expanding program quality assessment and improvement across their organization.

Social-Emotional Learning Assessment Measures for Middle School Youth This report identifies research-based tools that measure social and emotional well-being of middle school students.

Youth Development Resources

Chapin Hall Center for Children is an applied research center at the University of Chicago that conducts and disseminates research on children, youth, and families.

Child Trends is an independent research center dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families.

Collaborative for Social Emotional and Academic Learning is the leading national organizations working to establish social and emotional learning as an essential part of education.

Forum for Youth Investment is dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of investment in youth, and helps to bridge research, policy and practice in the field.

Harvard Family Research Project strives to increase the effectiveness of organizations and communities working with children, youth and families.

National Institute for Out of School Time works to ensure that all children, youth, and families have access to high-quality programs, activities, and opportunities during non-school hours.

National Youth Development Information Center is an initiative of the National Collaboration for Youth. NYDIC is a clearinghouse of information about youth development topics.

Search Institute is dedicated to advancing the well-being of children and adolescents through research, communication, and training.

The Center for Youth Program Quality is dedicated to improving youth experiences in the places where they spend time, particularly in out-of-school time. The Center developed the Youth Program Quality Assessment Tool used by organizations across the country as part of a quality improvement process for youth programs.

Youth Today is a national newspaper for children and youth-serving professionals.

Early Adolescent and Middle Grades Research

Putting Middle Grades Students on the Path to Graduation - A policy and practice brief that examines the role of middle grades in determining the odds of high school graduation.

The Forgotten Middle - This report examines the specific factors that predict college and career readiness and why its important to get more students on target by the end of eighth grade.

Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better - A large-scale research study that examines the policies and practices that are linked to higher student performance in middle grades.