TRANSITION TO HIGH SCHOOL= CRITICAL POINT OF INTERVENTION
- 9th grade course failure is a strong predictor of high school dropout
- Why is 9th grade so critical?
- DRAMATIC INCREASES IN COMPLEXITY in ..
- number of classes and teachers to interact with
- academic demands of coursework
- size of school and peer groups
- CHALLENGES:
- high schools are not equipped to support freshman in the development of new academic behaviors that can handle new loads
- students experience increased demands and striking reductions in support
- EFFECTS:
- Widespread grade failures – in Chicago, 53% of freshman fail at least 1 course
- Absences increase between 8th to 9th grade – in Chicago, they tripled
- INTERVENTIONS:
- make sure students have high attendance to classes
- intervene early when students start to fail courses
- DRAMATIC INCREASES IN COMPLEXITY in ..
9TH GRADE: A PLACE WHERE STUDENTS “GET STUCK”
- After a school move, students grades, attendance and attitudes towards school decline – this decline is marked in urban school environments
- Decrease in grades is most noticeable in urban schools because of high rates of absenteeism and course failure
- Academic failure undermines academic mindsets: sense of confidence, engagements and belonging
- Academic failures can start a downward spiral leading to sustained poor performance
- Students who fail courses run the risk of not promoting past then 9th grade in credits
9TH GRADER WITH STRONG ATTENDANCE AND GOOD GRADES ARE MORE LIKELY TO GRADUATE:
- On track to graduate (credit wise) by the end of 9th grade was a strong predictor of high school graduation (4 times more likely to graduate than off track students)
- Dip in academic performance is not limited to students who have low performance in middle school
- On/off track to graduate after 9th grade was a stronger predictor of high school graduation than middle school achievement measures
ACADEMIC BEHAVIORS, MORE THAN TESTED ACHIEVEMENT, PREDICT COURSE FAILURE IN 9TH GRADE:
- Reasons for failing courses (failure in academic behaviors):
- students not attending classes
- students are not doing homework
- students are not studying
- Above factors were measured through questionnaires and school records – these factors could explain dip in GPAs from 8th to 9th grade
A 9TH GRADE PROBLEM, NOT A HIGH SCHOOL READINESS PROBLEM
- Common assumptions – students who fail are NOT READY to attend high school
- Abrupt changes in student behavior make it hard to predict which students need more interventions – students who did fine in middle school are included among students failing 9th grade
- Change in high school environment may change student academic behaviors;
- stage environment mismatch – example – decline in adult control of behavior and decreases in academic support from 8th to 9th grade
- measured decreased levels in teacher attention, student-teacher trust, teacher personal support
- less monitoring of student behaviors leads to more skipped classes
- less adult involvement in student choices -> responsibility transferred to students
- Reasons for decline in support
- high school teachers teach more students
- high school teachers strategically withhold support to teach independence
- Students reactions to decline in support
- students who lack academic skills and display poor academic behaviors start getting low grades
- students lack direction
- students overwhelmed by new demands
- withdrawal of support leads to lack of development of skills that could make students more independent
- trying to fix student behaviors through punitive grade policies doesn’t seem to work
- What really works to build independent learners
- have clear and high expectations for success
- teach and practice strategies that make students successful learners
- provide high levels of support to help students meet high expectations
- provide multiple opportunities for students to succeed
- safe environments that lack fear of failure
THE AVOIDABLE FAILURE
- Strategies that have worked
- strategies that increase sense of belonging in a community
- small 9th grade academies that foster strong relationships among students and teachers
- problems that have high levels of expectations & relevance
- standards-aligned, college-tracked PBL programs
- lengthening time of classes where students need extra support (Math and ELA)
- teaching learning strategies such as goal setting, study skills, etc
- ensuring freshmen have high attendance rates
- strategies that increase sense of belonging in a community
Understanding the real factors behind poor 9th grade academic performance can help teachers setup classroom environments, policies, supports and activities that help freshman successfully transition from middle to high school. Contrary to popular belief, the withdrawal of support intended to let freshman develop independence often has the opposite effect; it tends to decrease the development of skills freshman need to learn to become effective independent learners. Schools that successfully transition 9th grades have high expectations and provide high levels of support to meet these expectations. They create safe learning communities where students feel like they belong and feel that it is safe to fail and succeed. They teach students the learning strategies they need to be successful.
Preparation Steps
- Recruit a team of teachers who share the same students to collaborate with on developing and testing strategies and on setting common clear policies
- Research strategies that can promote the 4 critical academic mindsets
- Research strategies for teaching learning skills that can help students succeed
- Decide how teacher team can use message abundancy (same message, many methods) to teach critical attitudes and skills
Early Implementation Steps
- Implement scaffolding activities that have students and teachers collaborate on norms to create and maintain a positive safe classroom culture
- Implement fair and supportive grading policies
- Give students time to learn and practice learning skills
- Use student reflection to assess whether or not interventions are working and to refine them
Advanced Implementation Steps
- Share observations and data with grade level team to determine what interventions are working and which need to improve. Use this sharing to determine what practices to incorporate into routines and which to refine or scrap.
- Collaborate with grade level team to refine policies (especially grading policies)
