Field trip effects on science achievement are largest for Hispanic students and students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2016 · checked against its sources 2026-10-18 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i? The positive effects of field trips on science achievement were largest for Hispanic students and those who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch. → Emilyn Ruble Whitesell 2016

Evidence¶

Emilyn Ruble Whitesell 2016¶

Emilyn Ruble Whitesell. (2016). A Day at the Museum: The Impact of Field Trips on Middle School Science Achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 53, issue 7. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/a-day-at-the-museum-the-impact-of-field-trips-on-middle-school-science-achievement doi:10.1002/tea.21322

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Subgroup analysis within the same New York City school-fixed-effects study of field trips and eighth-grade science exam performance. The author reports effects "largest for Hispanic students and those who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch." No subgroup effect sizes are printed in the available text.

"Effects were largest for Hispanic students and those who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Socioeconomic Status — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group
Race and Ethnicity — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group

Effects were larger in intervention schools with a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students or a lower percentage of White students — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Exposure to field trips to informal science institutions produces small positive effects on middle school students' standardized science test scores — a broader claim this one bears on
The OGAP trial population was racially diverse and predominantly low-income, supporting scope to high-poverty urban districts — related
Subgroup analysis indicates notable growth for students from traditionally underserved groups, such as those eligible for free or reduced-price lunch — related
Negative effects of mid-year entry are somewhat larger for Asian students and students not qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch — related
Learning conditions predict math grades across racial and socioeconomic groups, with larger associations for FRPL-eligible and Black students — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`field-trip-effects-largest-hispanic-frpl-students`
`title`	`Field trip effects on science achievement are largest for Hispanic students and students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch`
`description`	`Field trip effects on science achievement are largest for Hispanic students and students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2016`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-18`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-08`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `emilyn-ruble-whitesell-2016`

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