Portland Public Schools: From Data and Decisions to Implementation and Results on Dropout Prevention

Many school district leaders, particularly those in urban areas, struggle to reduce dropout rates, but find themselves overwhelmed by the dimensions of the problem. There are, however, a few districts making notable progress towards reducing the number of dropouts and ensuring that students earn high school diplomas in a timely manner.One of these is the Portland, Oregon, Public Schools (PPS). In the course of a single calendar year (2007-2008) PPS began to have a positive impact in addressing its dropout problem. How? The key was gathering data that illuminated the true scope of the problem, identifying predictive indicators to spot high risk students, and then marshalling teachers, administrators and support services to focus on those individual students entering 9th grade who were at the highest risk of dropping out of high school

Predicting Success, Preventing Failure: An Investigation of the California High School Exit Exam

Examines early indicators that identify fourth-grade students in San Diego who are at risk of failing the California High School Exit Exam, discusses implications for when and how to intervene to address those factors, and makes policy recommendations

Effective student motivation commences with resolving 'dissatisfiers'

The evolution in students' expectations based on Maslow's theory of human motivation shows a transition from expectations having an effect upon motivation towards those providing a satisfactory experience. Maslow's argument was that once the lower level needs, such as physiological and safety needs, are met other higher needs emerge. In the context of student motivation, once environmental conditions are satisfied, the individual becomes dominated by the unsatisfied needs and other hygiene factors related to their studies dominate their experience and expectations. However, the environmental conditions must be satisfied before progress to other levels will succeed. Failure to address these basic issues at the commencement of a student's course of study can lead to absence and the subsequent lack of academic integration is a significant contributor to withdrawal

Prepped for Success? Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Teens in Chicago Schools

In 2000, there were 8,153 births to mothers under the age of 20 in the city of Chicago. Forty-one percent of those births (3321) were to teenagers 17 or younger. Research has demonstrated that teen mothers are more likely than other teens to drop out of school and become dependent on welfare. 2 When a teen mother does not finish high school, she is more likely to become trapped in poverty than her better-educated peers. With so many potential negative effects of poverty on the teen and on her child, it is critically important to help the teen mother finish her education while she is still young and more likely to finish.During the course of its work on issues around pregnant and parenting teens, the Center for Impact Research (CIR) has heard from several advocates and service providers about the barriers teen parents face in furthering their education. 3 In addition to helping pregnant and parenting teens prepare for their new parental roles, many teen service providers help young parents navigate through various institutional systems. Some of these service providers reported negative impressions about how various educational systems in Chicago deal with pregnant and parenting teens. Service providers believed that some Chicago Public Schools teachers and administrators were not addressing the needs of pregnant and parenting teens and were inappropriately pushing them out of CPS schools and referring them elsewhere

Making the Most of Opportunities to Learn What Works: A School District's Guide

This guide for district and school leaders shows how to recognize opportunities to embed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) into planned policies or programs. Opportunistic RCTs can generate strong evidence for informing education decisions -- with minimal added cost and disruption. The guide also outlines the key steps to conduct RCTs and responds to common questions and concerns about RCTs. Readers will find a real life example of how one district took advantage of an opportunity to learn whether a summer reading program worked

Getting There: Improving Attendance in the Buffalo Public Schools

High rates of absenteeism in the Buffalo Public Schools (“BPS”) are strongly linked to low academic performance and graduation rates. Several difficult issues contribute to the low attendance in Buffalo, including poverty, segregation, mental and physical health challenges, access to transportation, and problems with school climate and student engagement. Many effective programs to improve attendance are already in place, but more work needs to be done. Recent data provides some insights into the attendance situation in BPS. For example, recent BPS data shows a direct correlation between high school students’ attendance rates and their success on Regents exams. In spring 2014, there was a difference of 35% between the passage rates of students with satisfactory attendance and those with severe absenteeism

Outlook Magazine, Winter 2013

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