This report was published by the Institute for Education and Social Policy.

HERE’S HOW THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE THIS REPORT:

This policy brief presents initial findings of the impact of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) on academic outcomes for public school students. Despite the broad appeal of providing summer jobs for urban youth, there is little research documenting the relationship between summer employment and educational outcomes for high school students. Because SYEP participation is determined through a random lottery system, our research provides a causal estimate of the impact of summer work. This brief examines SYEP’s impact on school attendance, test taking, and performance in the following school year.