What Are The Limitations?

While mentoring has been shown to have numerous positive impacts for students, mentors, and schools, it is important to remember that mentoring is not a "fix-all" strategy. Mentoring alone cannot remedy all of the social and environmental factors which contribute to poor student attendance, performance, self-esteem, and behavior (Smink, 1990). In their two-year study of Project RAISE, a mentoring program for at-risk middle school students in Delaware, McPartland and Nettles (1991) found that while the effects of the mentoring program were "sizable, [they] were not sufficient to neutralize the academic risks with which students entered the program" (p. 568). Although middle school students who participated in Project RAISE improved attendance and report card grades in English, they remained below district averages in attendance, standardized test scores, grade retention rates, and nearly all academic areas. Researchers emphasize that mentoring programs targeting low-performing and at-risk students especially are most effective when offered in conjunction with other social and academic services geared toward improving student performance and addressing students’ individual needs (Mosqueda & Palaich, 1990).

---

This document's URL is: © 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001 Email Webmaster Tel. 503.275.9500