One third of students entering 9^th grade (15/16 years old) will leave before graduating high school at the end of 12^th grade, according to a new report. A disproportionately high number of these students will be minorities.

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) looks at what can be done to keep at-risk students in school, and what is being done to reconnect out-of-school youth. It examines 12 communities where local and state policies have had a positive effect and presents their case studies. The report also highlights six major national youth employment programs, such as Job Corps which has 40 years of experience in the field.

The AYPF report notes successful strategies such as promoting community service, more career-oriented curricula and various schooling options.

A report from Civic Enterprises gives voice to high school drop-outs themselves who cite lack of motivation and external problems as the main reason for their leaving, rather than academic issues.

Jobs for the Future (JFF) analyzes whether pathways exist to help dropouts pursue an education and move toward an economically productive adulthood. A couple of the report's key findings show that dropping out is epidemic in central cities and rural, low-income communities and that socioeconomic status, not race, is the key indicator for dropping out of school.

Finally, two think-tanks are battling over how bad the drop-out crisis actually is. The debate is over how high school graduation data are tracked. According to the Economic Policy Institute the graduation rate nationwide is 82 percent with minorities closing the gap (although their graduation rate has stagnated over the last 10 years). In its report it lays out what it sees as faults in the tracking system. Meanwhile the Manhattan Institute uses Department of Education data which provide the 72 percent graduation rate.

For more details download and read the reports:

Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youths

The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts

Rethinking High School Graduation Rates and Trends

Leaving Boys Behind: Public High School Graduation Rates

Making Good on a Promise: What Policymakers Can Do to Support the Educational Persistence of Dropouts

(Sources: Education Week March 8, 2006; The Education Gadfly March 9, 2006 and April 13, 2006; The Education Innovator May 15, 2006; The Washington Post May 23, 2006)

The Coalition for Community Schools has issued a report which highlights the value of community-based learning for improving students’ attainment, attendance, graduation rates, and overall well-being.

Community-based learning involves students in “real-world” problem solving and brings together a number of teaching and learning strategies which had previously been separate programs: work-based learning, place-based learning, environmental education, civic education, service learning, and academically-based community service.

The report explains in detail all of the above terms. For example place-based learning uses the school’s surrounding area (its history, culture, economy, and needs) as the context for learning. Academically-based community service involves partnerships with local higher education institutions to create projects which revitalize the community.

For more information, download and read Community-Based Learning: Engaging Students for Success and Citizenship.

(Source: American Youth Policy Forum, April 2006 e-bulletin)

The Education Trust has released a study which examines “high impact” schools – those schools which are not necessarily the highest performing but are seen to be making a significant improvement with student achievement, especially among low-income and minority groups.

The study examines four high schools and compares them to schools with similar demographics. It then identifies the practices which make the schools more successful.

The study notes that the schools:

• focus on longer term goals, such as career, rather than just high school graduation
• work well with the system of external standards and assessments
• have high expectations for students regardless of their history
• implement an early warning system for students who are struggling and follow through on extra help.

For more details download and read Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground: How Some High Schools Accelerate Learning for Struggling Students.

The companion publication from The Education Trust spotlights three of the schools: The Power to Change: High Schools that Help All Students Achieve.

(Sources: Education Week December 7, 2005; NACAC Research Update February 2, 2006)

Nine months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and its public school system, the city continues to face the daunting task of rebuilding its infrastructure.

About one fifth of the public school population has returned to the city (12,000 out of 60,000 before the hurricane). Twenty-five of the 125 schools have reopened – the majority of which are now charter schools (publicly-financed independent schools).

It is widely acknowledged that the New Orleans public school system was one of the poorest performing and chaotic in the nation. Many educators view the opportunity to open charter schools as a chance to improve the system.

The current administration is a strong supporter of charter schools. Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings, has announced federal aid of $24 million (£12.8 m*) for Louisiana to develop more charter schools, doubling what it received to develop such schools immediately following the hurricane.

The state of Louisiana has taken over the management of the New Orleans school district. It now controls the majority of schools with the local school board, the Orleans Parish School Board, managing a few.

The schools now operate under an open-access system which allows parents to choose where they want their children to go. One concern is the lack of information on the schools which is causing confusion. The state is currently working on a clearinghouse with a centrally-located database to aid parents, in addition to town hall meetings.

Local leaders have launched an organization, New Schools for New Orleans, which is providing advice and support to the emerging charter schools.

Although there are concerns that this experiment with charter schools is too risky for children who are already vulnerable, educators are tracking the changes to the New Orleans school district with great interest.

Read a draft of the Recovery School District plan, available from the New Orleans public schools system.

Read the Department of Education’s press release on charter school funding for Louisiana.

*June 06 exchange rate: $1.88 = 1GBP

(Sources: Times-Picayune, June 3, 2006; Education Week June 7, 2006; Education Gadfly June 8, 2006; New York Times June 13, 2006)

Two states, North Carolina and Tennessee, have been selected for a growth model pilot project as an alternative means of measuring student progress each year.

As mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), schools must measure each student’s adequate yearly progress (AYP). They must meet annual targets for the student population as a whole and for certain subgroups, such as minorities, students with special needs or whose first language is not English. NCLB requires all students to reach proficiency by 2014.

The pilot program will allow the two states to demonstrate a student’s academic growth which may enable the school to meet AYP even if it is not meeting its targets.

The application process to participate in the growth model pilot was rigorous according to the Department of Education. Officials emphasized that this was not a way for states to get around meeting the mandated targets. There are up to ten slots available for participation in the pilot program and states that were not successful with their proposed growth models are encouraged to reapply.

For further details on growth models read the Department of Education’s press release.

(Source: Education Week May 24, 2006)

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is planning to expand its network of schools and move its Leadership In Training program.

KIPP schools are public schools, mostly charters, which operate in low-income areas. Established in 1994 by two graduates of the Teach for America program, KIPP schools share a core set of operating principles known as the five pillars.

KIPP plans to expand its reach with clusters of schools in specific cities. It is hoped that sharing a central administrative office will leave schools with more time to focus on academic matters. The geographic clusters include New York City, Newark (New Jersey), Washington (DC), Philadelphia, Denver, Chicago and San Antonio (Texas).

Another goal is to double the number of KIPP schools – there are currently 46 – and to triple the number of enrolled students which stands at approximately 9,000 at present.

KIPP schools are mostly middle schools but the program plans to offer the entire educational journey of pre-Kindergarten through 12^th grade.

The schools’ Leadership in Training program, which prepares future principals, is moving from the University of California at Berkley, where it was a stand alone program, to Stanford University where they expect to take advantage of Stanford faculty from both the business and education schools.

For additional background on KIPP, read the 2005 report Focus on Results: An Academic Impact Analysis of the Knowledge Is Power Program by the Educational Policy Institute.

(Source: Education Week April 12, 2006)

Public education is in need of a radical management overhaul, according to a report from the Progressive Policy Institute. It suggests that the role of school boards should change from managing the centralized bureaucracy of a standardized school system to offering a “portfolio of educational options” more suited to the needs of the individual student.

Some systems already offer options such as magnet schools or charter schools, but this report proposes much greater expansion of choice. It refers to large cities which are already experimenting with management, including the use of external providers, and school choice models: New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Baltimore.

The report lays out the obstacles to management change and offers suggestions to school districts for overcoming them. The author, Paul Hill, is a leading researcher on school choice and is Director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Read Put Learning First: A Portfolio Approach to Public Schools from the Progressive Policy Institute.

Find out more about Chicago's small schools programs, including Renaissance 2010.

Read more about the Philadelphia school district’s diverse management model which incorporates traditional public, charter, and privately managed schools.

(Sources: Progressive Policy Institute February 10, 2006; Education Week February 15, 2006; March 29, 2006)

In February 2005 the National Governors Association and Achieve Inc sponsored a National Education Summit to address the growing disconnect between high school preparation and the expectations of college and the workplace. For more details on the summit, please read our previous Update (Redesigning America’s High Schools).

Achieve Inc has released a report which shows how states are faring in implementing the action agenda one year on from the summit. It is the first of what will be annual reports tracking high school reform in all fifty states.

The agenda arising from the summit included:

• raising academic standards and graduation requirements
• building better data and measuring systems
• improving teacher training
• redesigning high schools
• implementing accountability.

Some states have made progress and many have plans in place to meet the agenda demands but the report suggests that there is a long road ahead for high school reform.

Read Closing the Expectations Gap 2006 from Achieve Inc.

(Source: Chronicle of Higher Education February 23, 2006)

Many states are restructuring career and technical education (CTE) around career pathways. This report highlights state policies that encourage connections among high schools, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, and the labor market.

The report summarizes current state policies on smoothing the transition to postsecondary education and the workplace, including policy successes and failures. The authors call for more integration of CTE with traditional academic programs – something which is not happening in most states.

For more information download and read the American Association of Community College’s Strengthening Transitions by Encouraging Career Pathways: A Look at State Policies and Practices

A policy brief from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) examines dual enrollment: high school students taking college-level courses for college credit.

The brief outlines

• the differences between dual enrollment programs, middle college high schools, and early college high schools
• the benefits of dual enrollment programs in terms of improved postsecondary preparation and participation rates
• statistics showing the growth in popularity of the programs
• controversies surrounding the programs
• examples of states which are implementing dual enrollment.

For more details, read: Dual Enrollment: Policy Issues Confronting State Policymakers.

(Source: Education Week March 29, 2006)

A report, comparing the policies of four states, looks at the way their governance structures affect the transition from high school to college. It calls for a better aligning of the various levels of the educational system.

Issued by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), and the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research the report identifies four areas which the states (Florida, Georgia, New York and Oregon) could use to reform K-16 (primary through higher) education.

The report looks at the states’ finance, assessments and curricula, accountability, and data systems. Additionally, the report analyzes the importance of other factors, such as leadership and state history and culture, in beginning and implementing reforms.

For more information read The Governance Divide: A Report on a Four-State Study on Improving College Readiness and Success

(Source: Education Innovator November 29, 2005)

Stanford University in California has announced a new financial aid policy for its undergraduates. Beginning this September students from families whose annual income is less than $45,000 (£24,000*) will not be required to pay tuition fees. Students from middle-income families deemed as those earning between $45,000 and $60,000 (£24,000 and £32,000*) will be asked to make a reduced contribution, on average $3,800 (£2,000*), to their child’s educational costs.

Stanford hopes to attract more gifted low-income students who are underrepresented at elite universities. Harvard and Princeton have similar policies in place, and a number of other top institutions have increased their financial aid packages.

The total cost of attending Stanford during the next academic year, including fees, accommodation and personal expenses, is estimated at $47,000 (£25,000*).

Read more about Stanford’s new financial aid policy.

*June 06 exchange rate: $1.88 = 1GBP

(Source: Chronicle of Higher Education March 17, 2006)