Effective universal school-based social and emotional learning programs for improving academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 years of research

40 studies meeting high methodological standards; reading N = 57,755, mathematics N = 61,360, science N = 16,380

Pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

Uses Best Evidence Encyclopedia inclusion standards. Graded C because the reported breakdown by study rigour, which is the interesting part, is not quantified in the accessible record.

Reading effect size +0.25, mathematics +0.26, science +0.19 on achievement measures. The authors' own stated caveat is the useful part - SEL programmes from more rigorous randomised studies with large sample sizes, which have dominated the classroom over recent decades, might not have as meaningful effects for students as once thought.

Medium.

Mixed. Its headline figures sit close to Durlak's 0.27 while its own commentary flags that the rigorous large trials underperform, which is the pattern later syntheses quantify.