Must Read Drop-Out Study

Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) yesterday introduced the Graduation Promise Act (GPA), which is being promoted by a coalition including the Center for American Progress, Jobs For the Future, Alliance for Excellent Education and The National Council of La Raza.

But before anybody moves on graduation rate policy everyone ought to all read this AMAZING! literature review on reducing drop-outs (with at a glance summary here), just published online by the Center for Public Education, and authored by education consultant Craig Jerald, who, if you don't know his work, is a man to watch in ed policy.

Though it was released completely without fanfare, the review shows that there is a lot more knowledge (including rigorous experimental studies) on preventing drop-outs than most people think. Jerald must have a vault of research studies in his basement because I've never seen a bibliography so diverse or comprehensive. From it he draws valuable and myth-busting insights like:

1) What schools do matters, even for the most at-risk students- in a randomized study using Check and Connect in Philadelphia, schools cut 4 year drop-out rates for high-risk students (low-income African-American males with disabilities and single-parent families) by 1/3rd and 5 year rates by 1/2.

2) Decreasing drop-out rates does not automatically increase graduation rates; in one Check & Connect study 4 year drop-out rates fell from 58 to 39 percent, while 4 year grad rates were up only 1 point (30% vs. 29%). To be effective programs have to address both monitoring/counseling and instruction.

3) Easy = boring - several studies found that making classes more challenging classes helped kids graduate and similarly unchallenging classes led to higher drop-out rates.

4) For programs to work they have to be intensive - low intensity, counseling, tutoring, or self-esteem workshops all had no effect on drop-out rates; successful programs essentially involved a caring, committed adult monitoring student attendance and grades almost daily, coaching students in academic and life skills, and intervening immediately if they start to fall off; as you can expect this kind of intensive approach can be expensive.

This is just the tip of the useful-info-iceberg and I highly encourage you to invest the time to read the full lit review and not just the at-a-glance summary. Coming soon, what I think this all means for grad rate improvement policy...