Transcript Slide 1

Preventing High School Dropout:
Understanding the Research and Useful
Strategies to Address the Problem
National High School Center
Webinar
December 13, 2006
National High School Center
Webinar Agenda
2:00-3:15 p.m.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
I.
II.
Welcome and Introduction - Joseph Harris, Director, National
High School Center, and Becky Powell, National High School
Center (5 min.)
“Preventing High School Dropouts: What the Research Says”
- Dr. Russell Rumberger, University of California, Santa
Barbara (15 min.)
“What is Minnesota Doing to Increase Rates of Graduation?”
- Dr. Camilla Lehr, Minnesota Department of Education (15
min)
“Preventing High School Dropouts in Minnesota”
- Glory Kibbel, Minnesota Department of Education (15 min.)
Q & A (20 min.)
Closing - Becky Powell, National High School Center (5 min.)
Preventing High School Dropouts:
What the Research Says
Russell W. Rumberger
University of California, Santa Barbara
Webinar
December 13, 2006
Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction to dropout issue
Causes of dropping out
Solutions to the dropout problem
Implications for practice
Implications for policy
4
1. Introduction to dropout issue
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Important issue for policy and practice
Debate on appropriate measures of dropout
and graduation statistics
Severe economics consequences
A single cohort of 600,000 dropouts costs $158
billion in forgone income and $58 billion in federal
and state income taxes
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2. Causes of dropping out
 Reasons students report
 Conceptual frameworks
 Individual perspective
 Institutional perspective
 Statistical models that predict dropping out
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POLLING QUESTION:
What do you think is the most common
reason for students dropping out of school?
1. Did not like school
2. Could not get along with other students
3. Felt did not belong in school
4. Missed too many days in school
5. Pregnant
7
Reasons dropouts leave school
ANY SCHOOL REASON
82
Missed too many days of school
44
Thought it would be easier to get GED
41
Failing in school
38
Did not like school
37
Could not keep up with schoolwork
32
Couldn't complete course requirements
26
Could not get along with teachers
25
Felt did not belong in school
20
Could not get along with students
19
Was suspended from school
17
ANY FAMILY REASON
34
Pregnant
28
Had to support my family
20
Had to care for a family member
16
Became the parent of a baby
14
ANY JOB REASON
35
Got a job
28
Could not work and go to school at same time
SOURCE: NCES, Educational Longitudinal Study, 2004
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0
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Individual Predictors:
Demographic
 Gender
 Race and ethnicity
 Immigration status
 Disabilities
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Individual Predictors:
Attitudes and behaviors
 Mobility
 Academic achievement
 Poor attendance (engagement)
 Misbehavior
 Low educational aspirations
 Retention
10
Institutional Predictors:
Families
 Family structure
 Socioeconomic status
 Single-parent and step-parent households
 Family processes
 Authoritative parenting
 Parental involvement (social capital)
11
Institutional Predictors:
Schools
 Social composition
 Sector (Catholic)
 Size
 Teacher quality
 Academic and social climate
12
Institutional Factors:
Communities
 Resources (social capital)
 Peers
13
3. Solutions to the dropout problem
 Programmatic interventions
 Support programs
 Alternative programs
 Systemic interventions
 Comprehensive school reform
 School and community collaboration
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Programmatic Interventions
 Few rigorous evaluations have been
conducted
 Few programs have “proven” to be effective
 Yet examples of proven or promising
programs exist
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Programmatic Interventions: What Works
Clearinghouse (http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/)

To date, WWC has reviewed 14 studies
Only 4 studies have met evidence standards (or
evidence standards with reservations)
The 4 studies evaluated 3 programs that have
demonstrated positive (or potentially positive)
effects:
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ALAS (Achievement for Latinos through Academic
Success)
Career Academies
Check and Connect
16
Programmatic Interventions: Examples of proven
programs

Perry Preschool
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African American 3 to 4 year olds
Improved high school graduation rate: 67% vs. 49%
for control group
ALAS (Achievement for Latinos through Academic
Success)
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
Latino 7th grade students in LAUSD
Reduced middle school dropout rate: 2% vs. 17% for
control group
17
Programmatic Interventions:
Features of effective programs
 Nonthreatening environment for learning
 Caring and committed staff who accept a
personal responsibility for student success
 School culture that encourages staff risktaking, self-governance, and professional
collegiality
 School structure that provides a low studentteacher ratio and a small size to promote
student engagement
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Systemic Interventions:
Overview
 Potential to impact more students
 More difficult to alter contextual factors in
families, schools, and communities that
contribute to dropout behavior
 Schools: Hard to identify the resources,
technical support, and incentives to transform
or restructure existing schools in order to
create features of effective schools
 Few examples of promising interventions
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Systemic Interventions:
Comprehensive School Reform
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Externally developed, research-based
models have 11 components
Recent review (Borman et al., 2003) of 29
leading models found “significant and
meaningful effects”
However, few focused on high schools and
on dropouts
20
Systemic Interventions:
CSR Quality Center (http://www.csrq.org/)
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Consumer-friendly reviews on effectiveness
of CSR models
Evidence on student and other outcomes
and on model provider’s services and
support
18 middle and high school models
reviewed: 4 with moderate evidence and 6
with limited evidence of positive effects on
students achievement
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Systemic Interventions:
Challenges (MDRC report)
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Creating a personalized and orderly
learning environment
Assisting students who enter high school
with poor academic skills
Improving instructional content and practice
Preparing students for the world beyond
high school
Stimulating change
22
Systemic Interventions:
Example of promising reform
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First Things First
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District reform currently in Illinois, Kansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas
Develops seven critical features of schools to
support students and teachers
Creates these features through three specific
strategies: small learning communities, family
advocate system, and improved instruction
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First Things First: Results
SOURCE: Gambone, M.A., Klem, A.M., Summers, J.A., Akey, T.A., & Sipe, C.L. (2004). Turning the Tide: The Achievements of the First
Things First Education Reform in the Kansas City, Kansas Public School District
24 (Executive Summary). Philadelphia: Youth Development
Strategies, Inc.
4. Implications for practice
 Address academic and social behavior
 Focus on both individual and institutional
factors
 Begin early in students’ academic careers
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5. Implications for policy
 Large reductions in dropout rates will come
about only through sustained, comprehensive
reforms that target all ages and grade levels
 Efforts must address both students and
school, family, and community contexts
 Success requires the will and capacity to act
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What Is Minnesota Doing to Increase Rates
of Graduation?
Cammy Lehr, Ph.D.
Minnesota Department of Education
December 13, 2006
27
MDE Dropout Prevention, Retention and
Graduation Initiative (2005–2008)
Five Goals
 Develop a comprehensive dropout prevention model
 Develop student-level and school environment assessment
tools to enhance development of effective programming
 Increase statewide and local coordination to address dropout
prevention
 Provide support and technical assistance for local education
agencies
 Increase the likelihood of continued implementation of
successful dropout prevention strategies and sustainability
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MDE Dropout Prevention, Retention and
Graduation Initiative (2005–2008)
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7 Participating Districts
High school and feeder middle school
partnership
Local leadership teams with a variety of active
participants (school staff, administrators,
community, parents, students)
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Guiding Principles
 Use of research-based information to inform decision
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
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
making
Understanding of student engagement as the bottom
line in preventing dropout
Understanding that dropping out is a process of
disengagement
Importance of engaging children in learning early
Importance of effective instruction
Importance of creating a contextual match and
relevance
30
Minnesota’s grant proposal provides a framework for
districts to use in making decisions about how to
engage students in middle schools and high schools
using 10 dropout prevention strategies identified by the
National Dropout Prevention Center
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/
These strategies can also assist in adding rigor to
programming, building relationships, and establishing
the relevance of instruction and education to students’
lives.
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Engaging Students in School and Learning
Using 10 Strategies
 Professional Development
 School-Community Collaboration
 Family Engagement
 Active/Individualized Learning
 Safe Learning Environments
32
Engaging Students in School and Learning
Using 10 Strategies
 Literacy Development
 Mentoring/Tutoring
 After-School Opportunities
 Service Learning
 Alternative Schooling
33
Using the Three-Tiered Model
Targeted (5%)
Selected (10-15%)
Levels of
Intervention
Universal (80%)
34
Schools Use a Series of Checklists and Templates to
Guide the Planning Process

Checklist 1: Getting Started (due 8/31)
Start-up activities, gathering of relevant data, needs assessment

Checklist 2: Data Synthesis and Implementation Focus (due 9/30)
Reflection and synthesis of data; articulation of implementation focus

Checklist 3: Implementation Detail and Local Evaluation Plan (due
12/31)
Implementation detail (what, who, timeline, etc.); evaluation plan with
goals, objectives, and indicators
35
Checklist 1: Getting Started
Conduct start-up activities
 Establish local leadership team membership
 Develop a communication plan
 Plan and provide professional development (early
orientation)
 Identify other groups in your school and community
already working on activities related to dropout
prevention
36
Checklist 1: Getting Started
Gather data to inform programming decisions
(total and disaggregated by groups)
 Student enrollment
 Graduation rate
 Attendance rate
 Dropout rate
 Additional data linked to risk factors (disciplinary
referrals, numbers of suspensions, percentages of
students failing classes or behind in credits, students
with chemical dependency)
37
Checklist 1: Getting Started
Conduct needs assessment
 School climate/environment assessment
 10 dropout prevention strategies assessment
 Additional needs assessment data (locally developed
ways of assessing student, school, and community
needs with respect to preventing dropout, such as
talking with students, conducting community focus
groups, administering bullying surveys)
38
Checklist 2:
Data Synthesis and Implementation Focus
 What do your data tell you?
 Demographics, enrollment, attendance, graduation rates
 School climate assessment
 Who are your most at-risk students and what are
indicators of risk?
 How is your school planning to respond?
(incorporate information on strategies)
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Checklist 3: Implementation Detail and
Local Evaluation Plan
 Information on what the school will implement to
improve student engagement, learning, and graduation
rates; delivery design; tailoring; resources needed;
who will be responsible; timeline; types of costs.
 Local evaluation plan (goals, objectives, indicators,
data collection schedule)
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What’s next?
 Continued technical assistance
 MDE liaisons
 Programming guide
 Web site up and running
 Newsletters posted online
 Professional development through existing
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
workshops
Steering committee meetings
District-level meetings
Connections to local resources
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How is it working?
 Those who profess to favor freedom and yet
deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without
plowing the fields…
 The challenge is coordinating the efforts with the
school, city, county, state, and federal programs and
services
 Discover resources available through MDE for rural
districts
 Build your bridge one brick at a time
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How is it working?
 Invest in the development of a diverse leadership team;
it is important to have multiple perspectives at the table
Conversations move from generalizations and assumptions to the
realities of student needs and aspirations, school and community
life – and on to real solutions
 Coordination of school, local, tribal, and state agencies
takes time and effort
 Other programs and grants tie into this project very well
43
The intent of this journey is not just to
raise rates of graduation,
but to engage children and youth in school
and to help them graduate with the knowledge and skills
necessary to successfully meet the challenges life
brings after completing high school.
44
MDE
Go to learning support; safe and healthy learners;
dropout prevention, retention and graduation initiative
http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Learning_Support/
Safe_and_Healthy_Learners/Dropout_Prevention_
Retention_Graduation/index.html
U of MN
Essential Tools: Increasing School Completion
http://www.ncset.org/publications/essentialtools/
dropout/default.asp
45
Preventing High School Dropouts in
Minnesota
Glory Kibbel
Minnesota Department of Education
Webinar
December 13, 2006
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Choice and Educational Options for At-risk
Students in MN
•State Approved Alternative Programs
•Charter Schools
•Post Secondary Enrollment Options
•Online Learning
•Open Enrollment
47
Minnesota Statute 124D.68
This statute lists the 12 Graduation
Incentives Criteria; students must meet
1 of the 12 in order to attend a State
Approved Alternative Program
Criteria were designed to identify
students who are at-risk of not
graduating from high school
Interestingly, two criteria are not
identified in this statute:
•Poverty level
•Special Education
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POLLING QUESTION:
Where should programming emphasis be placed with
students at-risk of not graduating from high school?
1. Supporting social/emotional development
2. Providing math and reading remediation
3. Meeting students’ individual needs
4. Having all students meet the same
programming requirements
5. Providing career education
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Components and Strategies for Effective
Alternative Education in Minnesota

Autonomy for program development
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Establishment of a positive culture, with a focus on
cultural acceptance

Relationship building
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Small class sizes

The money
50
Strategies Within Alternative Education
Programming
The rational for having various strategies is to meet individual students’
needs so that students can be successful
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Strategy 1: Independent Study


Designed for students 16+
Work is completed outside of the “bricks and mortar”
school
 Students meet with the teacher a minimum of 20-25%
(on a weekly basis) of the credit to
 Review student progress
 Assess work
 Discuss any social/emotional issues that the
student needs help with
 Students learn lifelong skills, such as self-direction,
problem solving, and time management
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Strategy 2: Project Based Learning
Students help design the course according to their area of interest
Students are responsible for using multiple resources, meeting state
standards, and proposing their project to their learning manager
before starting the project
At the culmination of the project, students have to present their
results to a team of staff and students and be able to justify why
they met the state standard (credit)
Strategy defies the concepts of “one size fits all” or everyone being
on the same page, on the same day, at the same time
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Strategy 3: Continual Learning Plan
Individualized Educational Plan─
as defined in Minnesota Statute 124D.128
I.
Current status
II.
Goal(s)
III.
Activities
IV.
Assessments
Where is the
student
currently?
Where does the
student want to
go?
How will the student meet
his or her goal(s)?
How and when will the
student know he or she
has met the goal(s)?
Date: March 10,
2006
Glory is in 10th
grade and is
failing her
English class,
with attendance
at 73%.
By June of 2006,
Glory will
complete her
English credit
with a C or
better.
Attendance will
be 80% or
higher.
At the end of each week,
Glory will review her
progress toward the
English credit and her
attendance.
Glory will meet with her
learning manager a
minimum of once per week
to review progress.
Attendance will be
charted daily.
A personal assessment
will be completed each
Friday. All formal
assessments will be
reviewed by the learning
manager at the end of
the week.
54
No Matter What the Focus, Certain
Elements Need to Be Incorporated
123A.06 CENTER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES.
Subdivision 1. Program focus. (a) The programs and services of a center
must focus on academic and learning skills, applied learning opportunities,
trade and vocational skills, work-based learning opportunities, work
experience, youth service to the community, transition services, and
English language and literacy programs for children whose primary
language is a language other than English. Applied learning, work-based
learning, and service learning may best be developed in collaboration with
a local education and transitions partnership, culturally based
organizations, mutual assistance associations, or other community
resources. In addition to offering programs, the center shall coordinate the
use of other available educational services, special education services,
social services, health services, and postsecondary institutions in the
community and services area.
55
Strategy 4: Extended Day Programming
Framework for Targeted Services
Where is it supported? Through legislation and general
education revenue
What is it? Support to the traditional system for students who
meet at-risk criteria
Why Targeted Services? 0 dropout rate
How are services provided? 4 components need to be addressed,
with programming designed by the
school district
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We Need to Meet Students’ Needs─All
of Them…
According to a Haan Foundation study:
It is not enough to do just the academics.
Successful programs for struggling readers
also must address their emotional and social
difficulties.
http://www.haan4kids.org/new3rs/
57
Advantages of Targeted Services
 Student performance and academic achievement increase
 A safe environment is provided
 Family connections are created
 Attendance rates increase and truancy decreases
 Student interest in school increases
 Behavioral instances decrease
 Grade retention is reduced
 The daytime curriculum is reinforced and supplemented
 New and different opportunities can be offered that address

individual learning styles
Because of smaller class sizes, all aspects of youth development
can be addressed
58
Q&A
59
Ways to Access Resources Offered by the
National High School Center

National High School Center Web site:
 www.betterhighschools.org

Sign up for our E-Newsletter, E-News for Better High
Schools, at
http://www.betterhighschools.org/subscribe.aspx
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