Does Mentoring Work?
Highlights from the C-U One-to-One Program Evaluation
U.S. Department Of Education Grant Period 10/1/04 – 9/30/07
Research from community based mentoring programs (e.g BBBS) has found that only 45% of matches sustain for 12 months. A similar study of school based mentoring programs reported an average length of match as slightly over 5 months.
• At the end of the C-U One-to-One grant period, 76% of our pairs had sustained at least 12 months
Best practice research suggests that the key to a successful mentoring program is to focus largely on supporting and nurturing the relationships between mentors and youth.
• 100% of youth believe that their mentor cares about them and 100% indicated that they enjoy being with their mentor.
• 99% of the mentors believe they have a close and trusting relationship with their mentees.
Attendance at school can influence a student’s ability to achieve academically and develop strong bonds with their school.
• 48% of youth with a history of unexcused absences were found to have fewer unexcused absences after participating in the mentoring program for at least 12 months.
• 93% of youth said that their mentor helped them feel good about coming to school.
Academic outcomes are difficult to produce in programs designed to promote interpersonal vs. academic outcomes. Historically, few academic improvements have been cited in mentoring literature.
• When their pre-match grade point average was compared with their grade point average at least 12 months after they were matched with a mentor, 71% of C-U One-to-One youth demonstrated an improvement in at least one core subject area (i.e. Science, English or Math). These gains were consistent across students in all race groups and income levels.
• Almost one out of five (18%) youth demonstrated improvement in ALL core subject areas. Again, these gains were consistent across all subgroups of students.
Beth Welbes served as an external evaluator for the US Department of Education grant that funded CU One to One from October 2004 through September 2007. Ms. Welbes has over 15 years of experience in coordinating evaluations of both community based and school based programs targeting prevention of adolescent health and social problems (e.g. substance abuse, delinquency, school drop-out, unintended pregnancy). In her role as Senior Coordinator of Research at the University of Illinois Center for Prevention Research and Development, she provides leadership in developing and executing contracts that improve data driven decision making within state and community prevention systems.