1 / 20

The Impact of the WSA Program on Reducing High School Dropout

The Impact of the WSA Program on Reducing High School Dropout. Nikolas Pharris-Ciurej UW-BHS Project Workshop October 19, 2007. Goals of the WSA Program. Encourage school redesign Reducing financial barriers, associated with college, for talented low income students

seda
Download Presentation

The Impact of the WSA Program on Reducing High School Dropout

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Impact of the WSA Program on Reducing High School Dropout Nikolas Pharris-Ciurej UW-BHS Project Workshop October 19, 2007

  2. Goals of the WSA Program • Encourage school redesign • Reducing financial barriers, associated with college, for talented low income students • Provide mentoring and support for students in high school and college • Ultimately, increase college going rates and create a cadre of well educated citizens and leaders.

  3. Potential Program Targets: • High School • College Plans/Educational Goals • Academic Rigor (AP, Advanced, Honors, College Prep) • College Application Preparation (courses, SAT/ACT, FAFSA, College Applications) • High School Graduation • College • College Attendance for Talented Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds • Minimize Debt and Workload for Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds • Increase 4 year college going rates for students in WSA schools

  4. National Census Bureau Estimates HS Grad 84.9% 88.2% BA/BS 26.0% 30.9%

  5. The High School Completion Problem:% of Confirmed HS Graduates

  6. Research question: • Has the WSA program impacted high school graduation rates? • Has the program impacted graduation rates for any particular subpopulations? • Low Income Students • Poor performing students

  7. Administrative School Records • Enrolled students: (courses & grades) • Typically tabulated in aggregate data • Collaborative with school district research office • Possible to match students across years • Unique student ID and birthday • Major limitation: Can not distinguish dropouts and out of district transfers • Use multiple aggregate level indirect estimation techniques • We estimate ~3/5th of the ‘exiters’ either: 1) dropout or 2) transfer and eventually dropout. • Defined universe • First time 9th graders in school district • Track for 4 years and measure “net exits” • 4 cohorts (entered 9th grade in 96, 97, 98, & 99)

  8. Administrative School Records • 5 High Schools in the District • 3 WSA High Schools • 2 Non-WSA High Schools • Allows for a ~ ‘treatment-control’ analysis • Cohorts starting 9th grade from 1996 to 1999 • Allows for a ‘pre-post’ program effect analysis

  9. Independent Variables • Background: “Risk Factors” • Race/Ethnicity & Gender • Family Income (above/below 185% of poverty level) • Transferred into district for 9th grade • Transferred w/in district while in HS • Educational Experiences: • Enrolled in a WSA school • Over-age (indicator of prior retention) • 9th grade English—honors, ESL, special, regular • First semester 9th grade GPA

  10. Lexis-diagram of HS Progression

  11. Four Year High School Graduation By WSA and Program Implementation 45 – 43 = 2% Increase 48 -52 = 4% Decline

  12. Four Year HS Grad Rates for Low Income Students by WSA/ Non-WSA School, Pre & Post Program Implementation Non-WSA Low Income 40–41 = 1% decrease WSA Low Income 40–37 = 3% increase 29% 50% 30%a 52% Post-Implementation Pre-Implementation aPercent of Overall Population

  13. Multivariate Analysis • Logistic Regression • Outcomes: • Made normal progression & graduated in 4 years • Graduated in 4 years • Estimated Predicted Probabilities for an African American male from a low SES family, with a C average in 9th grade, and a history of transferring schools

  14. Figure 1. Predicted Probability of an African American male from a low SES family, with a C average in 9th grade, and a history of transferring schools remaining on-track and graduating from high school in 4 years. 96-00 97-01 98-02 99-03 96-00 97-01 98-02 99-03

  15. Figure 2. Predicted Probability of an African American male from a low SES family, with a C average in 9th grade, and a history of transferring schools graduating from high school in 4 years. 96-00 97-01 98-02 99-03 96-00 97-01 98-02 99-03

  16. Conclusion • Tentative positive effect on high school graduation • Most likely due to promise of scholarship • Should continue—maybe strengthen—over time as program is fully implemented • No effect on sub-populations of interest for these cohorts

  17. Next Steps • Add additional cohorts • Examine whether the program is increasing HS grad rates for specific at risk sub-groups. • e.g. Does attending a WSA high school less than likely hood of dropout for poor performers in 9th grade? • Examine in which grades is the program effecting HS attrition (9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade)

  18. Thank you! Direct Questions To: Nikolas Pharris-Ciurej nickpc@u.washington.edu

  19. Four Year High School Graduation By Family Income for WSA/ Non-WSA Schools Pre & Post Program Implementation Non-WSA High Income 51–57 = 6% decrease Non-WSA Low Income 40–41 = 1% decrease WSA High Income 50 - 49 = 1% Increase WSA Low Income 40–37 = 3% increase 70%a 48% 30% 52% 71% 50% 29% 50% Pre-Implementation Post-Implementation aPercent of Overall Population

  20. Pattern of Change Expected

More Related