Education
| More

The Grade 9 Solution

How do we keep kids in high school? One answer: Get them through freshman year.

BY: | May 2006



After years of relative neglect, while experts concerned themselves with early childhood and elementary education, high school has taken center stage in the policy arena. It's about time. Every year, about a million students become former students without graduating. Those who stay are often disappointed by how poorly their educations have trained them for college or work.

That's why states, the Bush administration and numerous foundations are spending big money to improve high schools. More than half the legislatures have passed bills dealing with high schools over the past year. The only problem is, no one is quite sure what to do. "We know how good schools differ from bad ones," says James Kemple, an education expert with the Manpower Demonstration Research Corp., "but not how to make bad schools into good ones."

That's frustrating, but it's reality. "Small incremental changes are all that we can expect from our policies," says Valerie Lee, of the University of Michigan, "and we ought to laud them when we see them." One place that Lee likes to laud is Chicago.

Schools in Chicago suffer from the same high dropout rates and low test scores as those in other big-city districts. But for the past decade, high schools there have rededicated themselves to teaching sound basics, especially math and science. All 9th graders are expected to take algebra, for instance, rather than "checkbook math" or other remedial courses.

The result, perhaps surprisingly, is that more students are remaining in school and graduating. "The logic against requiring high-level courses for everyone is that it will increase the dropout rate," Lee says, "but it's coming down in Chicago." The designers of the program think that's because 9th grade is the decisive time for many inner- city students. If they can make it through that year in decent shape, taking challenging classes, they nearly always go on to graduate. A recent University of Chicago study concluded that performance in 9th grade "is a better predictor of high school graduation than race, ethnicity, elementary achievement or economic background.

Keeping kids in school, and expecting a little more out of them while they're there, may sound a little too obvious to qualify as far- reaching educational reform. But it seems to be working in one school system. Before long, it will turn up in other places as well.


If you enjoyed this post, subscribe for updates.

GOVERNING Logo
Alan Greenblatt

Alan Greenblatt is a GOVERNING correspondent.

E-mail: mailbox@governing.com
Twitter: @governing

Comments



Add Your Comment

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. GOVERNING reserves the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

Comments must be fewer than 2000 characters.

Latest from Education

  • Tennessee Gov. Haslam Drops School Voucher Plan
  • Gov. Bill Haslam abruptly withdrew his proposal for school vouchers after he and the bill’s sponsor in the state Senate failed to get guarantees from fellow Republicans that they would not try to expand the measure.

More From Education

GOVERNING Data

Events & Webinars

  • It’s A Paperless, Paperless World..... Thinking Outside the Box to Gain Efficiencies through Prepaid Cards
  • April 23, 2013
  • Public sector organizations are under intense scrutiny to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible and with maximum transparency. An important consideration is the way in which payments are made and managed. Prepaid cards can offer flexibility, security and accountability to governments as a method of dispersing benefits, healthcare and social care payments, child benefits and housing benefits to their constituents.


More Events & Webinars


© 2011 e.Republic, Inc. All Rights reserved.    |   Privacy Policy   |   Site Map