Transcript The Dropout Problem What Can Be Done? Christian Life Commission February 2, 2010

The Dropout Problem
What Can Be Done?
Christian Life Commission
February 2, 2010
Why should we be concerned?
• The consequences of dropping out are
severe both for the individual and society.
Dropping out often triggers:
– Unemployment
– Poverty
– Living on public assistance
– Poor health
– Incarceration
– Having children who drop out
Why should we be concerned?
DROPOUTS ARE:
Twice as likely to as high school graduates
to slip into poverty
• Three times more likely to be unemployed
that college graduates
• Eight times as likely to be in jail
• Less likely to enjoy the rewards of a
productive career. College graduates earn
$1 million more over their lifetime than do
dropouts
Why should we be concerned?
• There are costs to society as well as costs
to the individual.
• If our dropout rate remains the same for
the next 10 years, the result will be a loss
to the nation of $3 trillion due to:
– Lost productivity
– Lost contributions to the tax base
– Increased cost for social services
Dropouts – who are they?
• Dropping out is not just an issue for poor urban
or rural schools. 20 percent of all students drop
out—40 percent of students in the nation’s
lowest socioeconomic group, but also 10
percent of youth from families in the highest two
socioeconomic groups.
• Socioeconomic status, not ethnicity, is the key
indicator for dropping out. The dropout problem
affects African-American and Hispanic students
more than others because they are more
represented in the lower socio-economic groups.
Dropouts – who are they?
• There is no “typical dropout” although
some populations are overrepresented
• Graduation is related to a student’s
gender, ethnicity, and economic status.
HOWEVER all of these factors together
account for only about 12 percent of the
dropout phenomenon.
• The factors that make a huge difference in
whether an individual drops out are within
our power to change
Why Do Students Drop Out?
• Personal risk factors—substance abuse,
pregnancy, legal problems, working more than
14-20 hours per week.
• School risk factors—truancy, absenteeism,
tardiness, suspension, and disciplinary
infractions.
• Family factors—unstable home life,
socioeconomic status, siblings’ completion of
high school, single-parent households, parental
education background, primary language
spoken in the home. (Woods 1995)
What Do Students say about why
they drop out?
• Classes were not interesting (47 percent)
• Missed too many days and could not catch
up (43 percent)
• Spent time with people who were not
interested in school (42 percent)
• Had too much freedom and not enough
rules (38 percent)
• Was failing in school (35 percent)
(Bridgeland, Dilulio, & Morrison 2006)
We are making progress
Encouraging News
• 21 states report using the NGA
compact graduation rate definition. Of
the 16 that publicly reported their
graduation rate for 2008, Texas ranked
fourth behind only Iowa, Vermont and
Virginia. Texas ranked ahead of states
such as Michigan, Florida, Rhode
Island, Minnesota, North Carolina, New
York, and New Mexico among others.!
Encouraging News
• Eighth-grade African-American students in
Texas tied Massachusetts for first place on
the NAEP mathematics exam.!
• • Among white students, Texasʼ eighth-grade
students earned the fourth highest score on
the NAEP math exam.!
• • Among Hispanic students, Texasʼ eighthgraders had the fourth highest score on the
NAEP math exam. !
Encouraging News
• • Overall, Texas ranked 18th among 50 states
on eighth-grade NAEP math exam.!
• • African-American fourth-grade students in
Texas earned the third highest score on
NAEP math. ! •
• Texasʼ white fourth-graders tied for fifth
place with North Carolina on NAEP math. ! •
• Hispanic students in Texas ranked eighth
nationwide.!
Encouraging Research
• Research shows that schools can predict
who will drop out with a high degree of
accuracy.
• By 9th grade, dropouts can be predicted
with 85% accuracy.
Research
• By the end of the Fall semester of the
Freshman year, we can identify who will
dropout with just two numbers:
• It is Not
– IQ
– Family income
– 8th grade achievement tests
– Not zip code
Research
• Two key numbers
– Number of days absent in the first 100 days
– Number of courses failed in the first 100 days
Research
Absences
– Nearly 90% of freshmen who miss less than
five days of school that Fall, will GRADUATE,
regardless of their 8th grade achievement
scores.
– Students who entered high school with very
low 8th grade achievement scores but who
miss less than one week of school failed
fewer courses than students who entered high
school with very high achievement scores
who missed one additional week of classes.
Research
Absences
• Attendance is a problem even among
many high achieving students. About half
of the highest achieving students entering
high school with test scores in the top
quartile missed more than a week of class
Research
Course Failures
• A student with no more than one failure in
a core course per semester by end of
Freshman year was nearly four times
more likely to graduate.
• Almost 100% of all students with a B
average or higher at the end of their
Freshman year graduate within four years.
Research
Course Failures
• Failure to pass a course is often evident
by the end of the 6th week of the semester.
Promising Practices
E arly warning system
A dvocate
S ervices – academic and social
waY back in
Early Warning System
• National High School Center has created a
simple electronic spreadsheet that will
allow a school to download attendance
and interim period grades by student. It
will automatically flag those that are offtrack for graduation.
Adult Advocate
• Institute for Education Sciences USDE
recommends assigning an adult advocate
to students at risk of dropping out.
• Studies show such students earn more
credits, are absent less, and have better
grades.
Intervention Services
• Academic
– Tutoring
– Study skills development
• Social
– Counseling
– Health services
– Assistance with basic needs
A Way Back In
• Opportunities to re-enter the education
system that are:
– Flexible
– Offer acceleration opportunities
– Intensive academic and social services as
needed
Texas Education Agency
Dropout Prevention Initiatives
Strategic efforts toward
graduating more students, better
prepared for college
House Bill 1 Initiatives
80th Legislature (2006)
• High School
Allotment
• College Readiness
High School Allotment
$300,000,000 annually
Funds may be used to implement:
• college readiness programs to prepare
underachieving students for college
• programs that encourage students toward advanced
academics opportunities
• programs that give students opportunities to take
academically rigorous coursework …
High School Allotment
…(continued):
• Programs that align the curriculum for grades 6-12
with post secondary curriculum
• Other high school completion and success initiatives
in grades 6-12
What are Some Examples of How
Districts are Using the Funds?
– Tutoring and academic support
– Newcomer Academies for Limited English
Proficient students
– Summer programs for struggling students
– “Fish” programs for freshman students
– Professional development for teachers
– Stipends for mentor teachers
– Incentives to recruit and retain math and science
teachers
– Incentives to recruit and retain teachers at hard-tostaff schools
Federal Dropout Initiatives
• Communities In Schools
• 21st Century Community
Learning Centers
• Life Skills Grant
Communities In Schools
• Nonprofit community
organizations providing year
round social services to atrisk students in partnership
with the local school system
• Places a case manager on
each campus served.
• Receives legislative funds
and leverages additional
resources and funding from
other sources
Communities In Schools - How We Work
CIS Enlists and Facilitates
Partnerships
Student
Outcomes
Improved
Attendance
+
+
Human Services
Improved
Behavior
=
Higher Stay-in-School/
Graduation Rates
CIS Makes a Difference!
Services Repositioned
Source: CIS National 2003
Communities In Schools
Program Components
Supportive Guidance/Counseling
Health & Human Services
Parental Involvement
Career Awareness/Employment
Enrichment Activities
Educational Enhancement
Source: CIS of Texas 2004
Communities In Schools
CIS of Texas Program Facts
• Over 100 ISDs served
• 665 schools/campuses/projects received CIS
services
• 75,893 students served
• 2,291 partners, providers and agencies worked
with programs.
• 9,650 volunteers
Communities In Schools – Results!
• 97% of CIS case managed students
stayed in school.
• 84% improved in academics.
• 74% improved in attendance.
• 90% improved in behavior.
21st Century Community Learning
Centers
•Community learning centers provide students with afterschool academic enrichment opportunities with activities
designed to complement the student’s regular program
• 590 centers
•728 participating schools
Texas 21st Century Community
Learning Centers
• Programs may use the funds to carry out a
broad array of before- and after-school
activities achievement. These activities
include, among others:
– Remedial education activities and academic
enrichment learning programs, including tutoring
services;
Texas 21st Century Community
Learning Centers
• Mathematics and science education
activities;
• Arts and music education activities;
• Activities for limited English proficient
(LEP) students that emphasize language
skills and academic achievement;
• Recreational activities;
Texas 21st Century Community
Learning Centers
• Programs that promote parental
involvement and family literacy;
• Drug and violence prevention programs;
and
• Character education programs.
Life Skills Grant for Student Parents
The mission: to enable schoolage parents, through education, to
become self-sufficient,
responsible, job-oriented citizens.
Did you know: most
students who do not
complete high school
The goal: to reduce the number have at least one parent
who is a dropout
of students who dropout due to
pregnancy and/or parenthood,
and to recover these students to
the educational system.
HB 2237 –
Legislature
(2007)
th
80
Created a number of programs: one category was
designed to prevent students from dropping out
of high schools and a second category of
programs was designed to prepare high school
students for college.
Funded by Rider 53a and 53b. Approximately $25
million for each category. Reserved for districts
that exhibited during each of the three preceding
school years characteristics that strongly
correlate with high dropout rates.
HB 2237 Programs and Initiatives
Collaborative Dropout Prevention
Pilot Program
• Designed to encourage community
organizations to collaborate to address and
reduce the local dropout rate
• Funds are used to encourage local businesses,
local governments or law enforcement agencies,
nonprofit organizations, faith-based
organizations, and institutions of higher
education to work together with their school
district to deliver proven, research-based
intervention services
Collaborative Pilot Program
Features:
• Encourages local businesses and other employers to
offer internships, employment, and advanced vocational
training
• Encourages the coordination of community services and
resources to address the local dropout rate
• Encourages employers to provide paid time off for
parents to volunteer in school, and to provide incentives
for employees to engage in mentoring and other schoolrelated activities
• Provides for electronic course delivery and encourages
innovative instructional techniques
Intensive Summer Programs –
two types
High School – a program administered by a
school district in partnership with an
institution of higher education to provide
intensive academic instruction in English
language arts, mathematics, and science
to promote high school completion and
college readiness.
Intensive Summer Programs
Middle School - a program administered
by a school district in partnership with an
institution of higher education to provide
intensive academic instruction in reading
and mathematics to students in grades six
through eight to promote high school
completion and college readiness.
Intensive Summer Programs
Programs must:
• provide rigorous academic instruction;
• provide at least four weeks of instruction;
and,
• create work-study opportunities for
students enrolled in teacher preparation
programs to assist in providing instruction
in programs described by this section.
Ninth Grade Transition &
Intervention
• Component One: summer programs
designed to provide graduating 8th graders
with the academic and social skills needed
to successfully transition from middle
school to high school.
• Component Two: an early warning system
to identify those students who are likely
not to graduate
Ninth Grade Transition &
Intervention
• Component Three: intervention services
for students identified as off-track such as
tutoring, mentoring, counseling, social
services.
Dropout Recovery Pilot
• Pilot program designed to identify and
recruit students 26 years of age or
younger who have dropped out of Texas
public schools and provide them with the
educational and social services they need
to either earn a high school diploma or
demonstrate college readiness
Dropout Recovery Pilot
• Students can complete program by either:
– Earning a high school diploma; or
– Demonstrating college readiness by:
• Earning GED, and
• Passing TSI test to enter community college, and
• Attend and pass a college course
Dropout Recovery Pilot
• Key Features
– Provides students maximum flexibility
• no requirements regarding:
– number of hours student must attend
– when they must attend, or
– how they must learn
Dropout Recovery Pilot
• Offers services designed to help students
overcome barriers to completion
– Child care
– Transportation
– Counseling
– Academic support
– Access to social services
Dropout Recovery Pilot
Pay for Performance: grantees who assist
students may earn:
- $1,000 per student earning a diploma
or demonstrating college readiness; and
- are eligible to earn an additional $250
for completing up to four benchmarks along
the way.
What can we do?
The First Three Steps
1. Understand the Dropout Crisis in Your
Community
•
•
Who drops out? When? How many? How far
were they from graduation?
Why do they drop out?
-
Push outs, fade outs, forced outs – by life events.
Are schools and the community organized to
reduce or create dropouts?
2. Emphasize rigorous academic standards
in combination with focused prevention,
intervention, and recovery efforts at the
key points where students fall off the path
to graduation.
– pay attention to the early grades and
transition years (especially 9th grade).
– Make school relevant to the lives of students.
3. Organize a sustained, community-based,
comprehensive plan to end the dropout
crisis.
– Mobilize the entire community to focus human
and financial resources on the problem.
– Encourage involvement.
Resources:
For additional information on Texas
programs and initiatives, as well as current
research and conference information,
please visit our website at:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ed_init/sec/thsp/
• Click on the “Dropout Prevention” link
Resources:
Helpful websites:
National Dropout Prevention Center/Network:
www.dropoutprevention.org/ndpcdefault.htm
Silent Epidemic/Civic Enterprises:
www.silentepidemic.org
US Department of Education: School Dropout Prevention Program:
www.ed.gov/programs/dropout/index.html
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Understanding Dropout Prevention
Programs:
www.mathematica-mpr.com/education/dropoutprev.asp
Best Practices WIKI from the Pew Center – A Wiki About Student Retention
from the Pew Partnership for Civic Change:
www.learningtofinish.org/doku.php
Contact Information
For more information about TEA Dropout Prevention Initiatives, please
contact Jan Lindsey.
Jan Lindsey
Senior DirectorDropout Prevention and College and
Career Readiness
Texas Education Agency
William B. Travis Building
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 936-6060
[email protected]