Grounded in Research and Evidence-Based Practices
We take great pride in the fact that Second Step® programs are based on current research in the field. Translating research findings into key components of Second Step® programs helps Committee for Children design curricula that are effective in learning environments and proven effective by independent studies.
Real-World Impact
Independent studies representing more than 25,000 students show that the Second Step® Elementary and Second Step® Middle School digital programs deliver critically important outcomes for students, including increased academic motivation, improved school climate, reduced disciplinary referrals and suspensions, heightened prosocial behaviors, and strengthened family-school engagement.
Committed to Continuous Improvement
Committee for Children’s research team is deeply involved in the development process for each program they create, from initial conceptualization to continuous improvement efforts after program release. The team ensures programs reflect up-to-date scholarship and leads research partnerships with educator and field-leader advisory groups, as well as field-test sites, to gather and respond to expert feedback on Second Step® programs.
Program Outcomes
Randomized control trials and quasi-experimental trials of Second Step® programs provide evidence of the programs’ effectiveness. This section provides an overview of these studies, organized by program, and includes links to the published research.
Second Step® Elementary Digital Program
Increased Academic Motivation, Prosocial Behavior, and Parental Involvement Shown in Students Who Received the Second Step® Elementary Digital Program
Findings from an independent quasi-experimental study show significant evidence of positive program effects in schools using the Second Step® Elementary digital program. Specifically, students in schools that implemented this program with sufficient fidelity reported significantly higher levels of academic motivation, prosocial behavior, and parental involvement in schooling compared to a matched sample of peers in non-implementing schools.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Gage, N. A., Ulrich, T., Grasley-Boy, N., & Lee, R. (2025). The effect of Second Step on elementary students’ perceptions of a healthy school climate. WestEd.
Improved Self-Management Skills and a Reduction in Out-of-School Suspensions Shown for Students who Receive the Second Step® Elementary Digital Program
Findings from an independent study using data from over 23,000 students in a large, diverse school district in North Carolina show that using the Second Step® Elementary digital program with fidelity led to significant improvements in students’ self-management skills and a meaningful reduction in out-of-school suspensions.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Gage, N. A. (2025). The impact of the Second Step program on elementary students’ social and emotional skills, exclusionary discipline, and attendance. WestEd.
Second Step® Middle School Digital Program
Second Step® Middle School Enhances Students’ Perceptions of School Climate
Compelling evidence from an independent quasi-experimental study shows that using Second Step® Middle School can meaningfully enhance students’ perceptions of school climate, including teacher-student relationships, school belonging, and overall school environment.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Gage, N. A. & Ulrich, T. (2025). The effect of Second Step on middle school students’ perceptions of a healthy school climate. WestEd.
Second Step® Middle School Leads to Better Teacher-Student Relationships, Greater School Belonging, Improved English Language Arts Performance, and Reductions in Behavioral Infractions
Findings from a two-year, independent quasi-experimental study of 4,903 middle school students in a large school district in the Southeastern US showed significant improvements in English language arts (ELA) performance, substantial reductions in behavioral infractions (office referrals and in-school and out-of-school suspensions), and increased school attendance (about 2.5 more days per year). Additionally, treated students reported better teacher-student relationships, greater school belonging, and improved perceptions of school climate. These multi-dimensional effects highlight the value of continuing to strengthen human skills during the challenging middle school years.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Gage, N. A. (2025). The effects of Second Step on middle school students’ academic, behavioral, and social-emotional well-being. WestEd.
Second Step® Early Learning
Second Step® Early Learning Is Shown to Significantly Increase Executive Function, Which Leads to Kindergarten Readiness
Executive function, a set of foundational cognitive skills, is strongly linked to young students’ kindergarten readiness and academic success. Findings from a recent randomized control trial indicate that participation in Second Step® Early Learning leads to significant increases in preschoolers’ executive function. Growth in preschoolers’ executive function subsequently predicted gains in students’ pre-academic skills and on-task behavior, which in turn predicted their kindergarten readiness.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Wenz-Gross, M., Yoo, Y., Upshur, C. C., & Gambino, A. J. (2018, October). Pathways to kindergarten readiness: The roles of Second Step Early Learning curriculum and social emotional, executive functioning, preschool academic and task behavior skills. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1886. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01886
Increased Executive-Function Skills Shown in Preschoolers Who Received Second Step® Early Learning
A classroom randomized control trial was conducted using Second Step® Early Learning compared to the most commonly used curricula in Head Start and community preschools. Children receiving Second Step® Early Learning had significantly better end-of-preschool executive-function skills than students who didn’t receive the program.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Upshur, C. C., Heyman, M., Wenz-Gross, M. (2017). Efficacy trial of the Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) curriculum: Preliminary outcomes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 50, 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.03.004
Second Step® Elementary Classroom Kits
(Conducted with the 2011 Edition)
Improvements in Prosocial Skills, Empathy, Conduct Shown with Second Step® Elementary Classroom Kits
This study (the first with the 2011 edition of Second Step® Elementary) conducted a randomized control trial over a one-year period with 7,300 students and 321 teachers in 61 schools across six school districts, from Kindergarten to Grade 2. Significant improvements in social-emotional competence and behavior were made by children who started the school year with lower baseline skills than their peers. Additionally, the number of lessons completed and student engagement were predictive of improved student outcomes.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Low, S., Cook, C. R., Smolkowski, K., & Buntain-Ricklefs, J. (2015). Promoting social–emotional competence: An evaluation of the elementary version of Second Step. Journal of School Psychology, 53, 463–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.09.002
Second Step® Elementary Classroom Kits: Student Engagement and Number of Lessons Received Improved Both Social-Emotional and Academic Outcomes
In a randomized control trial study, Kindergarten to Grade 2 students’ academic performance was increased only when they received the intervention with high implementation fidelity. Compared to students in low implementation fidelity classrooms, students who were more engaged in the lessons showed small but significant improvement in oral reading fluency and decreases in disruptive classroom behavior. Students who participated in more lessons had increased on-task behavior and improved math computation.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Cook, C. R., Low, S., Buntain-Ricklefs, J., Whitaker, K., Pullmann, M. D., & Lally, J. (2018). Evaluation of Second Step on early elementary students’ academic outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. School Psychology Quarterly, 33(4), 561–572. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000233
Two-Year Study Found Second Step® Elementary Increased Social-Emotional Skills and Decreased Disruptive Behaviors in K–2 Students
In a two-year randomized control trial, students (Kindergarten to Grade 2 in year one) receiving Second Step® Elementary had increased social-emotional skills and decreased disruptive behaviors compared to the control group. These effects were strongest for students who had the lowest baseline skills at the beginning of the study. Both groups exhibited summer learning loss in their social-emotional skills, signaling a need to extend social-emotional learning through the summer.
Read more about this study. (PDF)
Low, S., Smolkowski, K., Cook, C., & Desfosses, D. (2019). Two-year impact of a universal social-emotional learning curriculum: Group differences from developmentally sensitive trends over time. Developmental Psychology, 55(2), 415–433. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000621
Making the Case for Social-Emotional Learning
These seminal studies present field-level and longitudinal evidence for the positive effects of SEL.
SEL Has Positive, Lasting Impact for K–12 Students
In a follow-up to their groundbreaking 2011 meta-analysis, CASEL and collaborating researchers have found that students from kindergarten to high school significantly benefit from school-based, universal social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions. This meta-analysis, released in July 2017, evaluated results of nearly 97,500 students in 82 schools, and the effects were assessed six months to 18 years after the program had ended.
The study shows that 3.5 years after their last SEL intervention, students fared markedly better academically than their peers in control groups by an average of 13 percentile points, based on eight studies that measured academics. Additionally, researchers saw that conduct problems, emotional distress, and drug use were much lower for students with SEL exposure than those without. The study also indicates that—regardless of race, socioeconomic background, or school location—students showed significant positive benefits one year post-intervention. This finding suggests that SEL interventions can support the positive development of students from diverse family backgrounds or geographical contexts.
Read the full report. (PDF)
Taylor, R.D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J.A., & Weissberg, R.P. (2017). Promoting positive youth development through school-based social and emotional learning interventions: a meta-analysis of follow-up effects. Child Development, 88(4), 1156–1171. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12864
SEL Programs Studied Return $11 for Every $1 Invested
This pioneering report from Columbia University details a benefit-cost analysis evaluating six SEL interventions (including Second Step® programs) that shows an average return on investment of $11 for every dollar spent. Until now, there has been little to no data to show policymakers and grant givers the economic benefits of SEL curriculum. The researchers acknowledge the limitations of imprecise data and say their conservative estimates may not capture the full benefits of the SEL programs evaluated. Known benefits of the interventions studied include: reductions in child aggression, substance abuse, delinquency, and violence; lower levels of depression and anxiety; and increased grades, attendance, and performance in core academic subjects.
Read the full report. (PDF)
Belfield, C., Bowden, B., Klapp, A., Levin, H., Shand, R., & Zander, S. (2015). The economic value of social and emotional learning. Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 6(3), 508–544. https://doi.org/10.1017/bca.2015.55
Social Competence in Kindergarten a Predictor of Future Outcomes
In a study released in July 2015 that examined nearly 20 years of data from the Fast Track Project, researchers found that teacher-rated social competence in kindergarten consistently and significantly predicted outcomes in education, employment, criminal justice, substance use, and mental health into adulthood. Kindergartners with higher social competence scores were measurably more likely to attain a college degree, more likely to earn a high school diploma, and more likely to have a full-time job at age 25.
Read the full report. (PDF)
Jones, D. E., Greenberg, M., and Crowley, M. (2015). Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness. American Journal of Public Health, 105, 2283–2290. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302630
How SEL Helps Prevent Bullying
Research has shown that building the social-emotional competence of students is an important component of effective bullying prevention. This article examines how social-emotional learning (SEL) contributes to bullying prevention efforts in schools and discusses specific SEL skills that can be taught to students to help prevent bullying.
Read the full report. (PDF)
Smith, B. H., & Low, S. (2013). The role of social-emotional learning in bullying prevention efforts. Theory into Practice, 52(4), 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2013.829731
Schoolwide Gains in SEL
A meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social-emotional learning (SEL) programs was conducted. Compared to students who didn’t participate in an SEL program, those who did showed significant improvements in social-emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance that reflected an 11-percentile-point achievement gain.
Read the full report. (PDF)
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
White Papers
Reviews of Research
The Case for a Comprehensive Approach to Social-Emotional Learning (PDF)
Safe, Supported, and Ready to Learn (PDF)
Child Protection in Schools: A Four-Part Solution (PDF)
Bullying Prevention in Schools Starts with Social-Emotional Learning (PDF)
Leer en Español (PDF)
Selecting Assessments and Programs to Support High-Quality SEL for Youth and Adults (co-authored by Committee for Children and Illuminate Education) (PDF)
School Leader Engagement in Strategies to Support Effective Implementation of an SEL Program (PDF)
Second Step® Early Learning Review of Research (PDF)
Second Step® Elementary Classroom Kits Review of Research (PDF)
Second Step® Elementary Digital Program Review of Research (PDF)
Second Step® Middle School Review of Research (PDF)
Second Step® High School Review of Research (PDF)
Second Step® SEL for Adults Review of Research (PDF)
Second Step® Bullying Protection Unit Review of Research (PDF)
