The Reference Desk, using available evidence and research, provides quick-turnaround responses to questions submitted by education stakeholders around the Northeast and Islands Region. Every Friday, REL-NEI highlights one or two questions submitted to its Reference Desk.
Dropout Prevention in the Early High School Grades
This week’s question deals with dropout prevention in high schools. Although the new school year has just begun and teachers and administrators may not be focused on student attrition, much of the research below suggests that one key to preventing student dropouts is early identification of at-risk students. This week’s digest presents a number of research reports that discuss issues of student attrition and dropout prevention.
Question
What does the research say about the effectiveness of dropout prevention programs administered to at-risk youth at earlier high school grade levels (e.g., ninth grade)?
Research Synopsis
Reference Desk researchers conducted a search for research reports as well as descriptive and policy-oriented briefs and articles on this issue. Some of the findings below stress the early identification of students who are at risk of dropping out. The research also suggests that dropout prevention programs implemented as early as middle school can be effective. With regards to dropout issues for students in early high school, one research report indicates that ninth grade is the “make it or break it year” for being on track to graduate. “Studies of Chicago public schools indicate that students who did not have enough credits as freshmen, often due to course failure, were less likely to graduate” (Northwest Regional Education Laboratory, 2008).
Publicly Available Resources
- Impacts of Dropout Prevention Programs. Dynarksi, M., Gleason, P., Rangarajan, A., & Wood, R.; A Research Report from the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program Evaluation; MPR Reference No.: 8014; June 1998; 96 pages.
The National High School Center summarizes this resource by writing “this study evaluated 16 dropout programs for middle and high school students under the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program (SDDP). The study found that middle school programs had a significant effect in reducing dropout only if they were implemented with high intensity. The programs, regardless of intensity, did not have an impact on student learning (e.g., grades, test scores). The high school programs, however, did not have an impact on reducing dropout, improving other school outcomes (e.g., test scores, grades), or improving social-behavioral outcomes (e.g., reducing pregnancy, increasing self-esteem).”
- Approaches to Dropout Prevention: Heeding Early Warning Signs With Appropriate Interventions. Kennelly, L. & Monrad, M.; October 2007; National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research; October 2007; 27 pages.
The report states on page 1 that “to be most effective in preventing dropout, school systems should focus dropout prevention efforts in the beginning of the middle grades.” The report also states that “most future dropouts can also be identified in the first year of high school when a sense of urgency around reaching out and supporting these students is critical before they disappear from school.”
- What the Research Says (or Doesn’t Say): Ninth-Grade Support Systems. Klump, J.; Northwest Education; Vol. 13; No. 2; Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory; Winter 2008.
The author cites research that indicates “ninth grade as the ‘make it or break it year’ for being on track to graduate.” “Studies of Chicago public schools indicate that students who did not have enough credits as freshmen, often due to course failure, were less likely to graduate.” The report also observes that “students who repeated ninth grade were still more likely to drop out.”
- Research Sheds Light on the Students Most at Risk of Dropping Out—and How to Keep Students on the “Graduation Track”. The Progress of Education Reform 2007: Dropout Prevention; Vol. 8; No. 1.; Education Commission of the States; July 2007; 6 pages.
From page 2, “The large numbers of students who fall off the graduation track early in the middle grades clearly require substantial and sustained supports to become engaged in schooling and successfully pass their courses.” The resource suggests that educators “establish interventions for failing students before their second year of high school” and “consider implementing higher level measures of progress at a higher level of performance—such as whether students are acquiring the skills they will eventually need to do well in advanced classes, or to prepare for college or work.”
The Reference Desk also found these organizations and their websites to be helpful in learning more about dropout prevention:
- What Works Clearinghouse: Dropout Prevention.
“The WWC offers a range of publications that evaluate school and community-based dropout prevention interventions and instructional strategies for middle and/or high schools. Reviewed interventions and strategies are designed to help students stay in school and/or complete school and may include services and activities that mitigate factors impeding progress in school.”
- National Dropout Prevention Center/Network.
“The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) was begun in 1986 to serve as a clearinghouse on issues related to dropout prevention and to offer strategies designed to increase the graduation rate in America's schools. In addition, the NDPC/N conducts a variety of third party evaluations and Program Assessment and Reviews (PAR).”
Download the Full Response
If this material brings up questions of your own, please submit a new request here. If you’re interested in learning more about the Reference Desk, read about us here. And finally, share thoughts, experiences, and resources of your own in our Feedback section below.
