Lessons Learned: Actionable Recommendations From the Field

Wisconsin Graduation Summit

March 2, 2010

Sandra Covington Smith, Ph.D.

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities

Clemson University

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National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities

A national specialty center funded by OSEP to support the states in increasing school completion rates for students with disabilitiesFirst funded by OSEP in January 2004Re-funded by OSEP in January 2009Project officer – Dr. Selete Avoke

NDPC-SD Mission•Established in 2004 by OSEP to build capacity to

improve school completion rates for students with disabilities

•Committed to providing evidence-based technical assistance to help states design and implement effective

dropout prevention programs

www.ndpc-sd.org3

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NDPC-SD Assists States…• Identifying evidence-based dropout

prevention interventions, programs, and practices

• Producing evidence-based knowledge that is useful to school practitioners

• Providing targeted technical assistance to states in a variety of formats

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NDPC-SD Assists States…• Establishing collaborative partnerships with TA&D

network partners and other organizations to leverage resources and help states build coordinated systems that improve post-school outcomes

• Disseminating dropout prevention information through multiple methods and efficient use of a variety of technologies

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OUR IMPACT Improved awareness and understanding through

increased access to evidence-based dropout prevention practices, interventions, and programs

Increased state capacity to address dropout issues through development of a data–driven framework and provision of direct technical assistance, capacity building forums, and consultation to SEAs and LEAs

Expanded state and local practices through intense technical assistance and coaching on the development of model sites that will serve as exemplars that others can replicate

According to the Research

Dropout Prevention for Students with Disabilities

Setting the Context(d)(1)(A) to ensure that all children with disabilities have

available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

Within Context• The keystone concept of an “individualized

education program (IEP)” of special education and related services tailored to one’s unique needs and limitations while bestowing meaningful educational benefit can only survive if such an opportunity proves effective at keeping more youth in school until they graduate (Bakken & Kortering, 2000).

Our Challenge For All Students

• Linking what we know about effective dropout prevention strategies to improve secondary transition programs that lead to improved outcomes.

Research

Practice

Compliance

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Lessons Learned

-What Do We Know &What Have We Learned-

LESSONS LEARNEDCauses

Problem behaviors coupled with academic difficulties or prior academic failures are key risk factors that are predictive of school dropout.

Repeated use of exclusionary discipline practices, such as suspension, has been identified as one of the major factors contributing to dropout.

High absenteeism and retention are serious risk factors for dropping out that can be monitored by schools.

The most accurate predictor of a student’s school achievement is the extent to which his/her family encourages learning.

Academic progress and school completion are not equally distributed across disability, income, or ethnicity.

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Factors that Impact School Completion

Improved School Completion RatesImproved School Completion Rates

Adequate Attendance

Appropriate Social Behaviors

Course Performance /Academic Engagement

Decreased Dropout Rates

Effective Transition Services

LESSONS LEARNEDConsequences

Students have to be present and engaged in order to learn. That is why the discovery that thousands of our youngest students are academically at-risk because of extended absences when they first embark upon their school careers is as remarkable as it is consequential.

Dropouts are more likely than high school graduates to need the support of living with parents in early adulthood, experience health problems, engage in criminal activities, and become dependent on welfare and other government programs.

Three to five years after dropping out, the cumulative arrest rate for youth with SED is 73%.

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Desired Outcomes

Knowledge

Transfer

Increased Understanding

Expanded practices

Improved capacity

Increased School Completion

LESSONS LEARNEDPrevention/Intervention

Establish a leadership team to actively coordinate implementation of dropout prevention efforts

Establish systems for routine monitoring of risk indicators associated with dropout

Create a local action team to analyze data and address dropout prevention at the local level

Intervene early, often as early as preschool

Increase family engagement and school involvement

Create school environments that are inviting, safe, and supportive

Focus on effective instruction

Listen to students

Administrators are key and their support is essential

Use proven practices

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All youth ready for All youth ready for college, career, college, career,

ind. living & active ind. living & active civic participationcivic participationPositive Positive

Behaviors Behaviors (Behavioral (Behavioral

Engagement)Engagement)and and

Outcomes Outcomes (Social (Social

Engagement)Engagement)Integrated System of High Standards, Integrated System of High Standards,

Curriculum, Instruction, Assessments, and Curriculum, Instruction, Assessments, and Support (Cognitive Engagement)Support (Cognitive Engagement)

Accountable Accountable LeadersLeaders

Empowered Empowered EducatorsEducators

Personalized Learning Personalized Learning Environments Environments (Psychological (Psychological Engagement)Engagement)

Academic Academic Success Success

(Academic (Academic Engagement)Engagement)

SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTSSUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS

Lessons LearnedRecovery/Re-entry

• Some students will dropout, often as early as MS.• As early as grade K, differences exist between graduates

and dropouts.• Dropouts appear to exhibit differential capabilities in

comparison with graduates as early as kindergarten (e.g., academic deficits, absenteeism at critical stages, and academic retention).

• It is never too late to recover a student who has exited school informally. Case management type services should be provided and their re-entry should be celebrated.

• Students should be introduced to an alternative path, if it is there only option to positive post school outcomes.

Implement practical strategies to recover students. It’s never too late!

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LESSONS LEARNEDCapacity Building

Take a systemic approach to address dropout prevention

Conduct causal analysis

Use data to guide program development, professional development, and other school improvement efforts

Consider multiple levels of implementation

Examine the influence of other performance indicators on school completion

Promote and implement evidence-based practices and strategies

Formula for Good Outcomes• Effective intervention practices + • Effective implementation practices =• Good outcomes for Youth with Disabilities

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http://www.ldonline.org/multimedia#psa

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Understanding Dropout:

A Process of Disengagement

Middle School Predictors of Dropout (Balfanz & Herzog, 2005; 2006)

1. The four strongest predictors – determined by the end of sixth grade

1. Poor attendance (14%)2. Failing English (16%)3. Poor behavior (17%)4. Failing math (21%)

2. Sixth graders who do not attend school regularly, receive poor behavior marks, or fail math or English 10% chance of graduating on time 20% chance of graduating a year late

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Middle School Predictors of Dropout (Balfanz & Herzog, 2005; 2006)

3. Students who repeated middle school grades are 11 times more likely to drop out than students who had not repeated

4. A student who is retained two grades increases their risk of dropping out of high school by 90% (Roderick, 1995).

5. Transition between schools Middle school/junior high school to high school

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What the Research Tells Us

Prevention and Intervention

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Improving Outcomes:

Addressing Dropout Prevention: Actionable Recommendations

1. The Solution Begins with YOU

1“We will never be able to turn the tide on the graduation crisis in this country if we don’t take the time to engage young people and their counsel as part of the solution.”

America’s Promise Alliance

ACTION: Assign adult advocates, to students at risk of dropping out

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Address Alterable VariablesSchool-level alterable variables associated with school

completion for students with disabilities (Wagner, Blackorby & Hebeler, 1993)

– Providing direct, individualized tutoring and support to complete homework assignments

– Providing support to attend class, and stay focused on school

– Participation in vocational education classes– Participation in community-based work experience

programs and training for competitive employment

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Focus on Interventions That Work

• Strategies that are focused on student engagement

• Interventions that occur over time, usually months or years

• Interventions that involve a family or parent component

• Interventions that are strength based and involve a variety of contexts

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Program Development & Support• Promote and facilitate the implementation of

evidence-based strategies that :–Promote school attendance–Promote academic success–Promote prosocial behaviors–Promote a positive school climate– Increase student engagement – Increase parental involvement

2. Promote High School Graduation For All Students

3. Invest Drop Out Prevent Initiatives in a Place of Authority

4. Examine and Expand Present Policies That Effect School Completion

5. Seek Youth At Risk of Dropping Out

6. Utilize Data Systems That Support A Realistic Diagnostic of the Number of Students Who Drop Out and That Help Identify Individual Students At High Risk of Dropping Out (diagnostics)

7. Provide Academic Support and Enrichment To Improve Academic Performance

8. Personalize the Learning Environment and instructional process

9. Provide rigorous and relevant instruction to better engage students in learning and provide the skills needed to graduate and to serve them after they leave school

10. Implement programs to Improve Students’ Classroom Behavior and Social Skills

11. Promote the Importance of Attendance – Every Day Counts!

12.Reengage Youth Who Have Dropped Out of School

13.Implement services to connect and engage parents in school completion initiatives (present data in parent-friendly format)

14.Provide Rigorous, Relevant, Options for Earning a High School Diploma

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CONSIDER GRADUATION AS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE OUTCOME!!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Sandra Covington Smith, PhDCoordinator of Technical Assistance & Training

Senior Research Associate sandras@clemson.edu

Clemson University209 Martin Street

Clemson, SC 29640864-656-1817

www.ndpc-sd.org

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