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Keeping Students on a Graduation Path in High-Poverty Middle-Grades Schools

Keeping Students on a Graduation Path in High-Poverty Middle-Grades Schools. Early Identification & Effective Interventions Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver (2007). The High School Dropout Crisis .

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Keeping Students on a Graduation Path in High-Poverty Middle-Grades Schools

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  1. Keeping Students on a Graduation Path in High-Poverty Middle-Grades Schools Early Identification & Effective Interventions Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver (2007) Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  2. The High School Dropout Crisis Research has shown that one-third to one-half of the students in many urban districts in the U.S. fail to graduate from high school (e.g., Balfanz & Legters, 2004; Swanson, 2004) In today’s society, their job prospects are gloomy, and the social and economic costs are staggering Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  3. Early Intervention Is Crucial By the time they reach high school, many urban students are so far behind academically and have such a poor pattern of attendance that it is virtually too late to begin intervention. Poor middle school education and failure to intervene at the middle school level contribute to 9th grade course failure and ultimately to the dropout rate Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  4. Research Questions • How many students exhibit early warning signs that they are beginning to disengage from schooling at the start of the middle grades in high poverty schools? • Can schools easily identify and effectively rescue students who have high odds of ultimately dropping out? Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  5. Data and Methods • We followed all 13,000 of Philadelphia’s public school students who were enrolled in the 6th grade in October 1996. We followed them through October 2004 (1.25 years beyond their expected graduation date) • We also looked at 3 more recent cohorts of Philadelphia’s 6th-graders and at cohorts in two other cities to verify our findings Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  6. Cont. – Data and Methods • We did a preliminary screen of about 20 variables (e.g., test scores, over age for grade, course marks, course failures, attendance, behavior marks, status and demographic indicators) to see which, if any, could identify as early as 6th grade students at high risk for slipping off a graduation pathway • We looked for variables with a high predictive power (i.e., about 75% or more of students with this characteristic do not make it to 12th grade on time) Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  7. Findings Four Powerful 6th Grade Predictors of “Slipping Off Path” • Attending school 80% or less of the time • Receiving a poor final behavior mark or a suspension • Failing Math • Failing English Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  8. 6th-Grade Course Failure as a Predictor of Not Graduating • Course failure was a much better predictor of not graduating than were low test scores. • Students who failed either a math course or an English/Reading course in sixth grade rarely graduated from the district. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  9. Did 6th-graders who FAILED MATH in 1997 (n=1801) Graduate On Time or One Year Late?

  10. Did 6th-graders who FAILED ENGLISH in 1997 (n=1409) Graduate On Time or One Year Late?

  11. 6th-Grade Attendance as a Predictor of Not Graduating • Attending school less than 90% of the time increases the odds that a student will not graduate. • When a sixth-grader’s attendance dips below 80% (missing 36 days or more in the year), the student has only a 1 in 6 chance of graduating from the district on time or one-year late. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  12. Did LOW ATTENDING 6TH Graders in 1997 (n=1934) Graduate On Time or One Year Late?

  13. Poor Behavior in 6th-Grade as a Predictor of Not Graduating • Students who were suspended slipped off the graduation path in large numbers. • 845 (6%) of the sixth-graders received one or more out of school suspensions. Only 20% of these students graduated on time or one year late. • 222 sixth-graders received in-school suspensions. Only 17% graduated on time or one year late. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  14. Poor Behavior (cont.) • Receiving a final unsatisfactory behavior grade in any subject in the sixth-grade significantly reduced the chances that sixth-graders would graduate from the school district. • A very large number (4,893) and percent (38%) received at least one final unsatisfactory behavior grade. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  15. Did 6th-Graders With an Unsatisfactory Behavior Grade in 1997 (n=1934) Graduate On Time or One Year Late?

  16. Percent of Sixth-Graders Graduating on Time or One Year Late

  17. Graduation rates for 6th Graders with Different Numbers of Risk Factors

  18. Discussion • We were able to find four variables with a very high predictive yield that identify the majority of sixth-graders who fall off the graduation path • These variables are each commonly measured and collectively capture a significant portion of a district’s future dropouts Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  19. Replications • We have replicated these findings using data from several other urban districts: • Baltimore • Indianapolis • Boston • In each case, we found that about half the students who eventually drop out can be identified in 6th grade Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  20. Implications • Students fall off the graduation path in different but identifiable ways. • In 6th grade, most future dropouts have just one of the big four risk factors – especially poor behavior or poor attendance • Some have two risk factors, especially poor behavior plus course failure (in English or mathematics) • Less than 8% of the sixth-graders had more than two of the big four indicators. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  21. What Districts Can Do: Helping Schools Implement Early Warning Systems • Offer training institutes to principals on the early identification of students who are falling off the graduation pathway during the middle grades • Training should include the nuts & bolts of creating a user-friendly early-warning system of indicators Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  22. District Interventions Key goals of the training institutes: • increase awareness that students’ academic and behavioral problems at the start of the middle grades typically do not self correct • Convince school leaders that early intervention is absolutely essential and also feasible • Teach school leaders how to implement a 3-tier prevention model Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  23. A 3-Tier Prevention Model • Schoolwide reforms aimed at alleviating 75% or so of the problem behaviors including poor attendance • Shepherding for the 15% to 20% of students who need additional supports beyond the schoolwide reforms • Intensive efforts involving specialists (counselors, social workers, tutors) for the 5% to 10% who need more clinical types of support Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  24. Comprehensive School Reform Research suggests that comprehensive school reform can significantly reduce the number of students who develop a poor attendance habit, who fail math, or who fail English and can produce significantly higher graduation rates. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  25. Importance of Additional Interventions in the Middle Grades Additional interventions specifically focused on improving behavior and attendance must be added What characterizes effective interventions for behavior and attendance? Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  26. Features of Effective Interventions for Behavior and Attendance • Positive behavior and good attendance is constantly recognized, modeled, and promoted • The first absence or incident of misbehavior brings a consistent, appropriate response • The intervention uses simple data collection and analysis tools that enable teachers and administrators to better understand the school’s absenteeism or misbehavior problems • Interdisciplinary teams regularly meet to analyze data and devise solutions Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  27. Shepherding of the Initially Unresponsive • If the student is a low attender, the shepherd might call the student each day the student is absent to communicate that the student is missed and to ask the reason for non-attendance. • If the student has behavior problems, shepherding might involve asking each of the student’s teachers to complete a simple behavioral record and then checking at the end of the day how the student did. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  28. Comprehensive Plan for Keeping Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Track Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  29. Comprehensive Plan for Keeping Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Track Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  30. Comprehensive Plan for Keeping Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Track Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

  31. A Promising Path to Higher Graduation Rates • Identify students who need sustained intervention in the middle grades. • Assist school to adopt both comprehensive schoolwide reforms and more targeted and individually-focused interventions to prevent and alleviate student disengagement. • Combine district supports to troubled high schools with supports to the middle grades schools that feed them. • Conduct district and state-level evaluation and dissemination of what’s working at each tier as schools and districts implement the 3-tier prevention model. Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver 2007

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