Evidence

U.S. Department of Education, Investing in Innovation (i3) grant

Tom Kratochwill

2013-2018

This RCT looked at the extent to which offering FAST to incoming kindergarteners and their families would contribute to turning around persistently low-performing schools and improving the academic outcomes of participating students. The study took place in Philadelphia public schools.

Bos, J., Spier, E., Bandeira de Mello, V., Gonzalez, R., & Huang, F. (2018). Investing in Innovation (i3) Validation Study of Families and Schools Together (FAST). AIR (American Institutes for Research).

Gonzalez, R., Huang, F., Spier, E., Bos, J., & Holtzman, D. (2018). FAST in Philadelphia: Exploring the Implementation of a Family Engagement Program. AIR (American Institutes for Research).

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) grant no. R01HD051762-01A2

Ruth Lopez Turley, Adam Gamoran, Alyn Turner, Rachel Fish, Carmen R. Valdez, Dr. Lynn McDonald

2008-2010

This RCT looked at whether and how social capital (defined as: trust and shared expectations embedded in social networks of parents, teachers, and children) has an effect on children’s social and cognitive development during the early elementary years. The children in the study were from low-income Latino families in San Antonio and Phoenix.

Fiel, J. E., Haskins, A. R., & Turley, R. N. L. (2013). Reducing school mobility: A randomized trial of a relationship-building intervention. American Educational Research Journal, 50(6), 1188-1218.

Gamoran, A., Turley, R. N. L., Turner, A., & Fish, R. (2012). Differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic families in social capital and child development: First-year findings from an experimental study. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 30(1), 97-112.

McDonald, L., Miller, H., & Sandler, J. (2015). A social ecological, relationship-based strategy for parent involvement: Families and Schools Together (FAST). Journal of Children’s Services, 10(3), 218-230.

Rangel, D. E., Shoji, M. N., & Gamoran, A. (2020). The development and sustainability of school-based parent networks in low-income Latinx communities: A mixed-methods investigation. American Educational Research Journal, 57(6), 2450-2484.

Shoji, M. N., Haskins, A. R., Rangel, D. E., & Sorensen, K. N. (2014). The emergence of social capital in low-income Latino elementary schools. Early childhood research quarterly, 29(4), 600-613.

Turley, R. N. L., Gamoran, A., McCarty, A. T., & Fish, R. (2017). Reducing children’s behavior problems through social capital: A causal assessment. Social science research, 61, 206-217.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS)

Thomas R. Kratochwill, Lynn McDonald, Joel R. Levin

2000-2002

Designed as an intervention for children with emotional disabilities or high risk for special education services, this study aimed to test FAST’S ability to strengthen family relationships and build a support network for families within the school. Overall, FAST had a positive impact on reducing the number of special education referrals for students who participated with their families.  FAST families scored higher on the Family Adaptability Scale, and FAST parents rated their children as being less aggressive. Furthermore, fewer FAST students ended up receiving special education services than students in the control condition, which indicates that there are cost saving benefits of using FAST as a prevention tool.

Kratochwill, T. R., McDonald, L., Levin, J. R., Scalia, P. A., & Coover, G. (2009). Families and schools together: An experimental study of multi-family support groups for children at risk. Journal of School Psychology, 47(4), 245-265.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Grant R01-10067

D. Paul Moberg, Lynn McDonald

1997-1999

This RCT involved randomly assigning second-grade classrooms to either FAST or a comparison condition called FAME in 10 inner-city elementary schools serving at-risk, low-income communities. The study included a 2-year follow-up. Teacher ratings of children‘s academic performance in the FAST group were significantly higher than in the comparison group, and FAST parents reported lower family social support than FAME families. Among Latino children at two years, teachers rated children in FAST as less aggressive and with higher social skills than children in FAME. Among African American children at two years, teacher ratings of internalizing behavior were higher in the FAST group, with no other between group differences in outcomes.

McDonald, L., Moberg, D. P., Brown, R., Rodriguez-Espiricueta, I., Flores, N. I., Burke, M. P., & Coover, G. (2006). After-school multifamily groups: A randomized controlled trial involving low-income, urban, Latino children. Children & Schools, 28(1), 25-34.

Moberg, P., McDonald, L, Posner, J., Burke, M., & Brown, R (2007). Randomized Trial of Families and Schools Together (FAST): Final Report on NIDA Grant R01-10067.

Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Grant

Thomas R. Kratochwill, Holly Young-Bear Tibbitts, Lynn McDonald, Joel R. Levin

2004 (publication year)

This study used a sample of students from three American Indian Nations in rural Northern Wisconsin. The goal was to test whether participation in the FAST program could improve academic performance while reducing problematic behavior. Overall, this adaptation of FAST proved very successful. Teachers reported a statistically significant decrease in aggression, delinquency, and social conflict among students who had participated in FAST, as opposed to the students in the control group.  In addition, they perceived an increase in academic competence.

Kratochwill, T. R., McDonald, L., Levin, J. R., Scalia, P. A., & Coover, G. (2009). Families and schools together: An experimental study of multi-family support groups for children at risk. Journal of School Psychology, 47(4), 245-265.

Administration of Children and Families (ACYF) ABT: National Evaluation of Family Support Programs

Jean Layzer, Barbara Goodson, Cindy Creps, Alan Werner, Lawrence Bernstein

1997-1999

This study assessed the long-term impacts on children and their families of the FAST Program. An experimental study of the program was conducted in nine schools in New Orleans, and included two cohorts with a total of approximately 400 children and their families. The program was successful in engaging a group of low income families, a substantial proportion of whose children exhibited serious behavior problems.One year after the program ended, FAST parents reported fewer behavior problems in their children compared with parents of children in the comparison group. A larger proportion of these parents reported that they had engaged in volunteer work and had occupied a leadership position of some kind.

Layzer, J., Goodson, B., Creps, C., Werner, A., & Bernstein, L (2001). National Evaluation of Family Support Programs Volume B: Research Studies Final Report.