Pathways to Student Success

Hilary Rhodes, Senior AnalystKatherina Rosqueta, Executive Director

Center for High Impact Philanthropy School of Social Policy & Practice

May 8, 2009

THE CENTER FOR

High Impact Philanthropy

“If I had a million dollars to improve the educational outcomes of at-risk

students, how could I spend it to have the greatest impact?”

What the Center Does

Our Approach

Field Experience

Informed Opinion

Research

MOST PROMISING

A multi-perspective, evidence-informed approach

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Informed Opinion:

• Expert opinion

• Stakeholder input

• Policy analysis

Research:

• Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies

• Modeled analyses (e.g., cost-effectiveness)

Field Experience:

• Practitioner insights

• Performance assessments

• In-depth case studies

More than a million students – nearly a third of each class – dropout of school each year

By end of high school, reading and math skills of Black and Latino students are equivalent (on average) to those of White students in 8th grade

19% of African American, 13% of Latino, 32% of White adults have earned a bachelor’s degree by age 25

Measures of Student Need

Economic Cost to Individual

Increasing Earnings Gap for Those Without College

45,000

22,000

44,000

34,200

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Bachelor's Degree or Higher H.S. Graduate or Equivalent Less than High School

Source: Planty, M., Hussar, W., Provasnik, S., Kena, G., Dinkes, R., KewalRemant, A., and Kemp, J. (2008). The Condition of Education 2008 (NCES 2008-031). National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. Retrieved 5/29/2008, from <http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2008/pdf/20_2008.pdf>.

Economic Cost for Society

Source: Belfield, C & Levin, H. eds. (2007). The Price We Pay: Economic and Social Consequences of Inadequate Education. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Category Cost per dropout

Lost tax revenue $139,100

Health care $40,500

Criminal activity $26,500

Welfare payments $3,000

TOTAL COST $209,100

Pathways to Success

PHASE: Early childhood and preschool

TARGET: School readiness

INDICATORS: ability to follow directions; recognition of relationships between letters and sounds; counting ability

Early Childhood / Preschool

• Development impacted by poor health & social circumstances

• Restricted access preschool; where available, likely not high quality

Obstacles in Early Childhood

Example of Early Childhood On-Ramp

Support one-on-one relationships to cultivate early literacy, social skills

Jumpstart results:60% of participating students better prepared for kindergarten than comparison group nationwide

$1,600 - $3,100 per additional student better prepared for school

PHASE: Primary (elementary) school

TARGET: Reading by the end of 3rd grade

INDICATORS: attendance; scores on math & reading assessments; social skills and emotional competencies

Primary School

Obstacles in Primary School

• Enrolled in schools with limited resources, poorer leadership and weaker teachers

• Outside of school, access to opportunities for enrichment restricted; health and social issues continue

Example of Primary School On-Ramp

Professional development & coaching in literacy instruction

Children’s Literacy Initiative:32 percentage points more

students meet literacy benchmarks than comparison group at a strong implementation site

$586 per additional student meeting benchmarks

PHASE: Secondary school

TARGET: Master 9th grade curriculum on time and graduate on-time

INDICATORS: attendance; scores on math & reading assessments; risk behaviors

Secondary School

• Waning student engagement & increasing negative behaviors

• Deficits in school resources continue and deepen

• Few opportunities to develop “soft skills”

Obstacles in Secondary School

Example of Secondary School On-Ramp

Extending learning time through apprenticeships, academic supports, and leadership development

Citizen Schools:8 to 27 percentage point

increase in on-time high school graduation

$12,000 to $40,000 per additional on-time high school graduate

PHASE: Postsecondary education and beyond

TARGET: Graduate from college or complete other postsecondary certification

INDICATORS: college retention after 1st year; income; employment status

Postsecondary Education

• Insufficient academic preparation and supports

• Financial barriers

• Social obstacles such as a lack of supportive peer networks

Obstacles to Postsecondary Education

Examples of Postsecondary On-Ramps

Long-term, wraparound supports and tuition guarantee

IHDF & Say Yes:An additional 8-41 percentage points in on-time high school graduation, 34 percentage point increase in college completion

$29,000 to $250,000 per additional high school and college graduate

Case Example: The Doe Initiative

Like many American cities, hard times befell Industrial City as its manufacturing base shrank and its tax base eroded. By 1996, it could no longer afford to educate its students and deeded its schools to the county. The city and county districts were different in important ways: one was urban, African American, and poor, and the other suburban, White, and affluent. Residents in both communities did not welcome the merger, as it played into a long history of race and class tensions.

While the merger addressed the financial needs of the urban schools, it did not resolve the stark differences in student achievement. A report released in 2000 showed that of the 20 worst elementary schools in the state, nearly half were the urban schools; the suburban ones, however, continued to far outpace the average. The report appalled the community and prompted the Doe Family Foundation to connect with the city’s local education fund (LEF), which had already begun working with the district to improve instruction.

Early interviews with stakeholders revealed some of the challenges that lay ahead.

Superintendent: “Bad teachers have been allowed to collect in urban schools. Bad teachers can survive there and have created a safe culture for themselves.”

Principal: “Turnover is constant. For three years you train new teachers to be effective with these kids, and then they leave. That wears out the savviest principal.”

Teacher: “It won’t work unless you get rid of my principal and those six teachers. Unless you can do that, you can keep your money.”

Student: “I hate school. It's so dirty and the bathrooms are always clogged. There are never enough textbooks and we're not allowed to use the computer in the library. And the teachers don’t care about you. They just don't listen.”

County parent: “They would be better off making a huge bonfire with that money instead of giving it to those elementary schools. At least then, the community would get a few minutes of heat and light.”

Case Example: The Doe Initiative

At the onset, the Doe Family Foundation and LEF established an ambitious goal: 100% of the third graders in the nine urban schools would read at or above grade level by 2007. The partnership galvanized the following resources to achieve its aim:• $5 million from the Doe Family Foundation • $2.5 million from LEF • $2.5 million from an assortment of city,

business, and community organizations

Case Example: The Doe Initiative

Questions

• What else would you like to know? How could you find the answers?

• Based on your experience and our earlier discussion, what activities would you explore to address the situation? What activities would you avoid?

What They Did

• Built strong leadership teams

• Cultivated effective teaching practice

• Provided financial incentives

• Partnered with community organizations for family & student supports

What They Achieved

• Teacher turnover declined

• Teacher instruction improved steadily over time

• Student achievement improved from 53.1% in 2003 to 80.2% in 2007

Percentage of 3rd Graders Scoring Proficient or Advanced in Reading

0

25

50

75

100

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Pe

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District Urban schools

Source: The Benwood Initiative <http://www.pefchattanooga.org/Home/Initiatives/BenwoodInitiative/tabid/64/Default.aspx>

Why It Worked

• Real commitment to improving teacher quality from all partners

• Data clearly identified problem and its connection to instruction

• Superintendent a “merger” expert, able to build collaborative relationships

• Existence of strong public education fund already working with the district

In His Words

http://lmri.ucsb.edu/dropouts/videos/

One Program’s Response

Raise expectations for student success• Equip teachers with techniques that

actively engage students• Increase rigor of student experience• Facilitate college application process• Provide extensive support network

Success rate: ~52 percentage point increase of college-ready students (88% AVID CA vs. 36% nationally)

Cost per beneficiary: $291 per year

Cost per impact: ~$1,700 per additional college-ready high school graduate

AVID Snapshot