Rethinking Retention

Finding an alternative path leading toward promotion for all…

Starting Points Supported by Current Research

①Retention and social promotion are both failed policies and do not produce lasting and significant gains for at-risk students.

①Implementation of high quality prevention programs is the most academically effective and cost-effective way to deal with the problem of promotion and retention.

①Promotion with support in place is preferable to retention (if preventative efforts have not been fully adequate).

Retention is a failed policy…

In the late 1990s, Chicago Public Schools tried a program in which students had to pass the Iowa Skills Test or go to summer school.

They got a chance to try again in summer school. If they did not make it, they would be retained…

How well did the program work????

Very Few Students Met The Grade Level Testing Benchmarks After a Year of Retention…

Retention & Dropouts

“Failing a student, particularly in the critical ninth grade year, is the single largest predictor of whether he or she drops out.”

--Wald and Edley,

“The Grade Retention Fallacy”

Retention & Dropouts

• Retained students are 20 to 30 percent more likely to drop out of school (Shepard)

• Students who are retained twice or more have an almost 100 percent probability of dropping out of school (Association of California Urban School Districts)

Retention & Race

• In Massachusetts, black and Hispanic students are three times more likely to be retained than white students.

• Retention widens the racial achievement gap (Wald and Edley)

An Unfortunately Strong Correlation

Research has shown retention to be strongly correlated to

Declining attendance Declining motivation Increased tardiness Increased suspensions and expulsions Declining test scores Declining optimism Decreased connection to school

What does the Gavin faculty think?

• In general, most teachers believe:

– Summer school is not an effective solution to students not meeting grade level standards.

– They cannot explain our current promotion policy.

– There’s not enough support in place for struggling students.

What do Gavin students think?• In general, students believe…

– They do not know what the promotion policy is and do not think it is consistently applied.

– Retention is usually attributed to poor behavior.

– Retention is attributed to somebody making a decision. Promotion is not necessarily viewed as something that is earned.

What’s the alternative???• Commitment as a school to helping all learners to be

promoted

• Targeted help to those who are most at-risk when they need it

• Strong school-home communication

• Seeking extra help becomes part of the school community

• Teacher-student relationship building time is built into the school day

What do alternative programs look like?

While support for students can take on different forms, generally effective programs “are offered early and often as a normal part of the school routine; and they are often multi-faceted, with supports for academic achievement made available in a variety of ways.” (Wheelock)

How Can Our Promotion Policy Be

Revolutionized?

Two Main Components:

1 Set up a consistent, clear and well-publicized promotion policy that embodies the Gavin’s high academic expectations.

1 Set up a comprehensive support system to support ALL Gavin students to earn promotion

Our New Promotion Policy: CLEAR AND SIMPLE

• All students must pass all of their classes.• Passing is considered a final grade of a D- or

better.• Patterned after Rogers Middle School, Hyde

Park

The Fundamentals of Our Support System

Promotion for all becomes a school-wide priority.• Success Academy: an afterschool program for

struggling students• Time built in to the regular day to meet with

students on a regular basis.• Built in time for extra help and makeup work.

• Coordinator in charge of tracking at-risk students, coordinating their services and communicating with parents.

Intended Student Impact• Students who do not meet grade level

expectations, but enroll in Success Academy will be promoted with supports in place for next year.

• Individual Student Success Plan will be created and follow the student to the next grade.• Student will start the year in Success Academy

Intended Student Impact• Struggling students will

feel more connected to the school and see an opportunity to improve their academics.

• School climate will improve for students.

• Students will view teachers, administrators and support staff as being “on their team”

Intended Teacher Impact• Teachers will have more “flex time” that they can use to work with students on a one-on-one basis or in small groups.

• Teachers will have more of an opportunity to form positive relationships with all students outside of the classroom setting.

• Teachers will have a program in place to reinforce their efforts in the classroom.

Intended Whole School Impact• More positive school climate focused on learning

• Greater sense of community at the Gavin

• More effort put into creating success for all and less effort put into discipline

• “Calmer classrooms”

For More Information

Please take a moment to review…

– The New Promotion Policy

– The Recommendations for Implementation