Old 10-08-2009, 08:25 AM
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Conclusions to the December 2007 essay California High Schools That Beat the Odds in High School Graduation of the California Dropout Research Project
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This has been one of a collection of studies examining issues related to children dropping out of school conducted through the California Dropout Research Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Its major objective is to examine alternative methods in local schools that appear efficacious in keeping children in school through graduation. Rather than starting with a specific program or intervention and testing to see if it seems to make a difference, the “beating-the-odds” approach featured in this paper attempts to identify schools that appear to be achieving the desired effect.
There are several major objectives of this exercise. First, are there high schools in California that enroll high percentages of traditionally challenged students and yet still show strong, consistent performance in terms of low dropout rates, high graduation rates, and relatively high academic achievement? How many such schools can be so identified, where are they located, and what are their characteristics? For example, it may be that success on these measures is much more possible in smaller, more rural settings with a high degree of stability, than in urban settings with higher transiency, and perhaps fewer strong bonds to the community.
Second, to what extent are the leaders of these BTO schools able to articulate the methods they believe have contributed to these results? Third, are there clear strategies that other school leaders might follow, and/or over-arching themes from which they might learn?
As described earlier, the broad array of approaches for measuring dropouts creates one of the difficulties in attempting to identify “beating-the-odds” schools. Schools that appear strong on one measure may appear weak on another.
Recognizing this, we made determinations that are based on stability of results, but which are also ultimately somewhat subjective. That is, using different measures, other researchers may come up with a different list of BTO schools than derived through this study. Nevertheless, we feel the criteria we used were quite stringent, and that we were able to identify a strong set of BTO schools. Furthermore, the leaders of these schools were able to describe in detail some of the specific strategies they had employed which they attributed to affecting these results.
However, through the initial round of phone interviews we did find schools we considered to be “false positives.” That is, one respondent from a district in which three of the 22 BTO schools identified through this process are located indicated that the statistics we were observing resulted from transferring problematic students out of these schools rather than working with them to stay enrolled in their original school. This problem is noted in a 2007 Legislative Analyst Office study, which suggests that schools often encounter pressure to push low-performing students into alternative schools to evade responsibility for their progress (Hill, 2007). Alternative schools often have much higher dropout rates than the state average and account for a significant portion of California’s dropouts (Timar, Biag, Lawson, 2007).
At least one large urban district with several statistically strong BTO schools was unwilling to take the time to participate in this study, and so we do not know to what extent the schools identified as BTO in this district were employing exemplary practices. Most of the six high schools we feature in the narrative above are in smaller school districts. In five of the six cases they are the only high school in their district. This likely offers the advantages that smaller, more cohesive communities can bring in supporting children to stay in school. However, they also attributed their success to factors that could conceivably be employed in larger districts choosing to do so. For example, they cited the fact that the district administration was very focused and dedicated to their needs. The leaders of these schools also cited their ability to exercise considerable discretion over who was hired. These principals said their districts allowed them considerable autonomy to set priorities for their schools and to introduce and/or alter programs as needed to achieve high standards.
The principal of the BTO school located in a large district cited similar factors. These factors—district support (Datnow and Stringfield, 2000; Edmonds, 1979; Fuller, Loeb, Arshan, Chen, and Yi, 2007; McLaughlin and Talbert, 2003; Parrish, Perez, Merickel, and Liquianti, 2006), enhanced control over hiring (Fuller et al., 2007; Parrish et al., 2006; Perez et al. 2007; Purkey and Smith, 1983; Rosenholtz, 1985), and a certain degree of independence and autonomy (Marsh, 2000; Parrish et al., 2006; Purkey and Smith, 1983) —have also been found by other researchers as important in attempting to understand vastly different levels of achievement across schools with similar student populations.
In addition, given this context, several over-arching themes across respondents regarding what was done within these schools were identified: connecting with students, engaging parents and community, providing specific supports for students at risk, and creating a culture of accountability and high expectations. Again, these over-arching themes are neither surprising nor new. A recent publication from the Education Commission of the States cites early intervention, engagement, challenging courses, and smaller school size as organizational factors that can influence students to stay enrolled in high school (2007). In addition, high school reform literature indicates that addressing these issues can lead to higher student achievement and graduation rates (Quint, 2006; Herlihy and Quint, 2006).
Timar, Biag and Lawson (2007) suggest that dropping out can also be defined as a “professional problem” due to a lack of adequate training and time for teachers to identify students who may be at risk of dropping out. Accordingly, in this study we find that identified BTO schools have been able to maintain a high quality teaching staff through professional development and hiring practices. Further, improving instructional content and practice through curriculum design and professional development is also noted as a key strategy of effective schools (Herlihy & Quint, 2006).
Creating a personalized school climate where staff provide support for students’ academic and personal growth is crucial for student achievement (Quint, 2006). Through counseling programs and extracurricular activities, the schools highlighted in this study provide numerous opportunities for students to build relationships with staff and connect students to the school. Many of the schools included in this study provide vocational courses to prepare students for post secondary options. Quint (2006) argues that this helps increase student engagement thus motivating students to graduate. Timar, Biag, and Lawson (2007) also support utilizing targeted programs to provide additional support for students at risk of dropping out, but emphasize that further evaluation is needed to identify the most effective programs.
We consider these findings to be encouraging. Schools that are producing exemplary results with challenging student populations can be found. The relative consistency of findings in regard to the elements and strategies that are attributed to this success are also encouraging. While this does not indicate a clear prescription for success, it does suggest that what these schools are doing can be identified, and that it may be possible for others to learn from their success.
Thus, while all of these elements may not necessarily be replicated elsewhere (e.g. size and community context are outside a principal’s control), we believe it is possible to learn from what others are doing. For this reason, we considered it very important to name specific schools and to attempt to describe what they are doing in their own terms to the greatest extent possible. While far from full descriptions, what is included in this paper has been reviewed by each of these schools in an attempt to ensure fidelity with actual practice.
In summary, this study offers useful insights into what can be done to address California's dropout crisis. Specific schools can be found that are beating the odds on these vital outcomes and are creating explicit structures and supports to encourage high graduation rates. These practices can be adopted by other schools and should inform future policy
Riverdale High School, a small rural school in Fresno County, shows an estimated graduation rate of 100%.
Duarte High School, located about twenty miles east of Los Angeles, has an estimated graduation rate of 97%,
Sanger High School is located in a suburban community a few miles from Fresno with an estimated 96% graduation rate.
Selma High School is located in a suburban community of Fresno County and has an estimated 93% graduation rate.
Located in Los Angeles County, Bassett High School graduates an estimated 97% of its students.
Valley High School is in an urban community in south Sacramento and has an estimated graduation rate of 84%. Due to high student mobility there have been many challenges to maintaining low dropout rates
http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_reports.htm