Briefing Paper prepared by NIOST for the Massachusetts Special Commission on After School and Out-of-School Time on afterschool program quality.

There is broad agreement that afterschool programs can play a significant role in supporting the development of young people. But to do so it is critical that the program be of high quality. A high quality afterschool program can have strong positive effects on children' s academic, social, and emotional lives and this can be especially true for at-risk youth. Some research suggests that what students do during the out-of-school time hours has as much bearing on their success as what they do during the school day.