Using an Early Warning System to Identify and Support Students at Risk for High School Dropout PDF Download

Author: National High School Center
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2

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Book Description
The United States high school dropout problem has been called a national crisis, with only 74.9% of public high school students graduating with a diploma in 2008. With states and districts under mounting pressure to raise graduation rates, there is increasing urgency to obtain more accurate and timely data to systematically identify students most likely to drop out of high school so that dropout prevention supports can be offered to get them back on track to graduate. Early warning systems can help educators predict which students may be in danger of dropping out of high school by using indicators based on readily available school-level data (e.g., attendance and course performance). To facilitate the establishment and use of early warning systems across the nation, the National High School Center has developed an" Early Warning System Implementation Guide" and a free downloadable Microsoft Excel-based tool, the "Early Warning System (EWS) Tool v2.0". The EWS Tool v2.0 is based on research on the academic and behavioral predictors of dropout and can be used by schools, districts, and states to identify students who are at risk for dropping out of high school. This brochure details what early warning systems are and how they can be used to identify and support students who are at risk of dropout, and provides a brief overview of the EWS Tool v2.0 and early warning system implementation process. (Contains 4 footnotes.).

Author: National Academy of Education
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309163072
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
High school graduation and dropout rates have long been used as indicators of educational system productivity and effectiveness and of social and economic well being. While determining these rates may seem like a straightforward task, their calculation is in fact quite complicated. How does one count a student who leaves a regular high school but later completes a GED? How does one count a student who spends most of his/her high school years at one school and then transfers to another? If the student graduates, which school should receive credit? If the student drops out, which school should take responsibility? High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates addresses these issues and to examine (1) the strengths, limitations, accuracy, and utility of the available dropout and completion measures; (2) the state of the art with respect to longitudinal data systems; and (3) ways that dropout and completion rates can be used to improve policy and practice.

Author: Jessica B. Heppen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 13

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Book Description
The high school dropout problem has been called a national crisis. Educators, researchers, and policymakers continue to work to identify effective dropout prevention approaches. One important element of such prevention efforts is the identification of students at highest risk for dropping out and then the targeting of resources to keep them in school. An early warning system that uses "indicators based on readily accessible data" can predict, during students' first year in high school, whether the students are on the right path toward eventual graduation. Research is clear that ninth grade is a "make or break" year. More students fail ninth grade than any other grade in high school, and a disproportionate number of students who are held back in ninth grade subsequently drop out. Recent research in large urban school districts, including Chicago and Philadelphia, provides information about powerful indicators that can predict, by the end of the first year of high school, or even during the first semester, whether students will complete high school. This brief guide reviews this research and uses it as a basis for providing guidance to schools and districts about using data to address the dropout problem. This guide, intended for educators and policymakers at the school, district, and state levels, is designed to provide information about the following: (1) Factors that contribute to a student's dropping out; (2) Research on early warning indicators; (3) School-level early warning systems; (4) District-level early warning systems; and (5) States' roles in supporting the development and use of early warning systems. (Contains 3 tables and 3 endnotes.).

Author: Ann-Marie Faria
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
Although high school graduation rates are rising--the national rate was 82 percent during the 2013/14 school year (U.S. Department of Education, 2015)--dropping out remains a persistent problem in the Midwest and nationally. Many schools now use early warning systems to identify students who are at risk of not graduating, with the goal of intervening early to help students get back on track for on-time graduation. Although research has guided decisions about the types of data and indicators used to flag students as being at risk, little is known about the impact of early warning systems on students and schools--and in particular, whether these systems do help get students back on track. This study, designed in collaboration with the REL Midwest Dropout Prevention Research Alliance, examined the impact and implementation of one early warning system--the Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System (EWIMS)--on student and school outcomes. To assess the impact of EWIMS on student and school outcomes, 73 high schools in three Midwest Region states were randomly assigned to implement EWIMS during the 2014/15 school year (37 EWIMS schools) or to continue their usual practices for identifying and supporting students at risk of not graduating on time and to delay implementation of EWIMS until the following school year (36 control schools). The study included 37,671 students in their first or second year of high school, with 18,634 students in EWIMS schools and 19,037 students in control schools. EWIMS and control schools and students were similar on all background characteristics prior to random assignment. The study examined the impacts of EWIMS on indicators of student risk and on student progress in school after the first year of EWIMS adoption. The study found that EWIMS reduced the percentage of students with risk indicators related to chronic absence and course failure but not related to low GPAs or suspension: (1) The percentage of students who were chronically absent (missed 10 percent or more of instructional time) was lower in EWIMS schools (10 percent) than in control schools (14 percent); this 4 percentage point difference was statistically significant; and (2) The percentage of students who failed one or more courses was lower in EWIMS schools (21 percent) than in control schools (26 percent); this 5 percentage point difference was statistically significant; (3) The percentage of students who had a low GPA (2.0 or lower) was 17 percent in EWIMS schools and 19 percent in control schools; this difference was not statistically significant. However, sensitivity analyses that used continuous GPA data instead of the binary risk indicator showed that, on average, GPAs were higher in EWIMS schools (2.98) than in control schools (2.87); this difference was statistically significant; and (4) The percentage of students who were suspended once or more was 9 percent in both EWIMS and control schools; there was no statistically significant difference. EWIMS did not have an impact on student progress in school. That is, there was not a statistically significant difference between EWIMS and control schools in the percentage of students who earned insufficient credits to be on track to graduate within four years (14 percent in both). At the school level, EWIMS did not have a detectable impact on school data culture, that is, the ways in which schools use data to make decisions and identify students in need of additional support. In nearly all participating schools, overall implementation of the EWIMS seven-step process was low, and implementation was challenging. Nevertheless, EWIMS schools were more likely than control schools to report using an early warning system and having a dedicated team to identify and support at-risk students, but EWIMS schools did not differ from control schools in the frequency of data review or the number and type of interventions offered. This report provides rigorous initial evidence that even with limited implementation during the first year of adoption, using a comprehensive early warning system can reduce the percentage of students who are chronically absent or who fail one or more courses. These short-term results are promising because chronic absence and course failure in grades 9 and 10 are two key indicators that students are off track for on-time graduation. However, because the past research linking indicators to on-time graduation is correlational, it is not yet known if improving these indicators leads to improving on-time graduation rates. Also, EWIMS did not have a detectable impact on other measured indicators that are related to students' likelihood of on-time graduation, including low GPAs, suspensions, and earning insufficient credits. Future research is needed to better understand the mechanisms through which EWIMS had an impact on chronic absence and course failure and why EWIMS did not affect other outcomes. In particular, studies could focus on identifying which staff actions and student experiences lead to improved student outcomes. Studies should also examine whether schools achieve improved overall implementation in subsequent years and whether (and how) the observed impacts fade, grow larger, or extend to other risk indicators (low GPAs and suspensions); to intermediate outcomes (including student persistence and progress in school); and to long-term outcomes (including dropout and on-time graduation rates). The following are appended: (1) Planned implementation of the Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System; (2) Recruitment, random assignment, and study sample; (3) Data collection and analytic methods; (4) Detailed findings and supplementary analyses; and (5) Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest.

Author: Linda Shealy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Over one million high school students drop out of school each year in this country. Dropping out of school is a serious problem for the student, community, and the nation. Often dropouts are unable to compete in an increasingly technological society and face numerous consequences from their decision to leave school early including higher levels of poverty, unemployment, public assistance, incarceration, and poor health. Dropping out is a gradual process of school disengagement and related to individual, family, and school factors. In the past, it has been difficult to track individual student's progress through school and to determine accurate dropout and graduation rates. In 2005, the National Governors Association made a commitment to implement a uniform method to calculate and report graduates and dropouts as well as better data collections systems. This study intended to replicate aspects of other major studies around the county to determine the best early predictors of dropping out of school in this large school district in southern Arizona and use this information to build an early warning system. Student data were obtained from the district's Research and Accountability office for a cohort of students (n=6751) who began the ninth grade in fall 2006 and graduated or should have graduated in 2010. Data collected included general demographic information, academic data, number of schools attended, and school withdrawal codes. The intent of this research was to determine if there were statistically significant differences between dropouts and graduates in the variables collected and which variables yielded the highest effect sizes and should be included in the district's early warning system. Two analyses were used to determine significance differences between dropouts and graduates. Then four analyses were performed to determine the highest-yield variables for this district. Consistent with recent research in the field, the variables of ninth grade attendance, ninth grade English and Math grades, and GPA were the strongest predictors of student dropouts. Local educators can use this early warning information to help identify potential high school dropouts as early as possible and intervene more efficiently and effectively with these students.

Author: C. Lee Goss
Publisher: Guilford Publications
ISBN: 1462516203
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
"Subject Areas/Keywords: academic achievement, adolescents, at-risk students, attendance, behavior problems, children, dropout prevention, early identification, early intervention, elementary, high school completion, interventions, middle school, MTSS, multi-tiered systems of support, response to intervention, retention, RTI, school reform, school success, secondary, student engagement, students Description: Meeting a crucial need, this book presents effective prevention and intervention methods that can help all students stay--and succeed--in school. The authors emphasize that dropout is a process, not an event. They provide tools for identifying dropout risk (including academic, behavior, and attendance problems) and strategies for problem-solving and data-based decision making at the elementary and secondary levels. Illustrative case examples and reproducible checklists and tools enhance this user-friendly resource. The print book has a large-size format with lay-flat binding to facilitate photocopying. Purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials. "--

Author: Michael A. Gottfried
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
ISBN: 1682532798
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
In Absent from School, Gottfried and Hutt offer a comprehensive and timely resource for educators and policy makers seeking to understand the scope, impact, and causes of chronic student absenteeism. The editors present a series of studies by leading researchers from a variety of disciplines that address which students are missing school and why, what roles schools themselves play in contributing to or offsetting patterns of absenteeism, and ways to assess student attendance for purposes of school accountability. The contributors examine school-based initiatives that focus on a range of issues, including transportation, student health, discipline policies, and protections for immigrant students, as well as interventions intended to improve student attendance. Only in the past two or three years has chronic absenteeism become the focus of attention among policy makers, civil rights advocates, and educators. Absent from School provides the first critical, systematic look at research that can inform and guide those who are working to ensure that every child is in school and learning every day.

Author: Trish Hatch
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1071825631
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 473

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Book Description
This edition provides school counselors with new ways for moving from reactive to proactive and from random to intentional counseling. By using data to determine what all students deserve to receive and when some students need more, it offers effective ways to provide proactive school counseling services, stay accountable, and advocate for systemic change. Includes data analysis, intervention strategies, methods aligned with standards, examples, artifacts, and other tools.

Author: Louise Kennelly
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dropouts
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description

Author: Laurie Reid
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781634838924
Category : Dropout behavior, Prediction of
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Every 26 seconds in the United States, a teenager drops out of school. A well implemented early warning system can help educators and others identify students at risk of dropping out and assign and monitor interventions to keep them on track for graduation. This book summarises what is known about early warning system implementation and describes how states, districts, and schools can draw on the research to inform their work locally. It provides evidence-based recommendations for use by educators addressing the challenge of reducing student dropouts.