DROPOUT PREVENTION & REENGAGEMENT

Predictors

Ninth Graders

Many national studies over the last several years have indicated a dropout epidemic among students with only a ninth grade credit level. As part of the Parents Views on Education study, Pathways in Education focused specifically on the topic of transition from middle to high school in order to understand the unique challenges ninth graders face and potential strategies to increase ninth grade completion rates. According to the US Department of Education, a successful transition into ninth grade is a key indicator as to whether or not a student will end up graduating.* More than half of Parent Views on Education respondents agreed, believing that a students’ adjustment to high school (their first semester in ninth grade) is critical or very significant as an indicator of whether or not they will ultimately drop out.

* High School Dropouts and Stopouts: Demographic Backgrounds, Academic Experiences, Engagement, and School Characteristics. 2015. U.S. Department of Education, NCES 2015-064

 

Q. How significant do you think a students’ adjustment to high school (their first semester in ninth grade) is as an indicator of whether or not they will drop out?

Q. Considering only grades 9-12, what grade do you think students experience the most failed classes in?

Q. Considering only grades 9-12, what grade do you think students most commonly drop out from?

Parent Opinions on Helping Students adjust to High School

When considering strategies that may be effective helping ninth graders transition to high school, parents believe extra assistance in core subjects like math would be most impactful, followed by smaller class sizes and pairing each student with a teacher or staff mentor their freshman year.

 

Q. Please indicate how impactful you think the following efforts would be in helping students adjust to high school.

 

 

Worries and Concerns of Ninth and Twelfth Graders

When parents reflect on the greatest potential worries facing ninth graders, they most often cite not being cool enough, getting bullied, and not understanding schoolwork. Reflecting on the mental state of twelfth graders, parents overwhelmingly agree the top concern is a lack of vision or plan for the future.

 

Q. If you asked a ninth/twelfth grader about their worries and concerns, which of these do you think they’d be likely to say?

 

 

Ninth Grade Concerns by Household Income

Parents from lower income households are more likely than those from higher income households to think ninth graders are concerned about getting bullied, guns in school, not getting enough help with school work, and supporting their families.

 

Q. If you asked a ninth grader about their worries and concerns, which of these do you think they’d be likely to say?

 

Twelfth Grade Concerns by Household Income

Parents from lower income households are more likely than those from higher income households to think twelfth graders are worried about supporting their families and not getting enough help with their schoolwork, but less likely to say they are worried about what the future looks like.

 

Q. If you asked a twelfth grader about their worries and concerns, which of these do you think they’d be likely to say?

 

Strategies

Support and Awareness for Dropout Reengagement Programs

While the high school dropout rate has decreased more than 50% since the 1960s, wide disparities continue to exist by race and income. Pathways In Education seeks to determine the public’s awareness of the resources/programs available to students that have dropped out and wish to reenter school. While respondents do agree dropout and recovery programs should exist, nearly two-thirds do not know if any such program exists in their local area.

* High School Dropout Rates. Child Trends calculations of 2014 U.S. Census Bureau Data Bank. (Nov 2015)

 

Q. Do you think there should be special programs or services available to dropouts who want to reenter school?

Q. Are there programs or schools in your area that specifically work with dropouts?

 

Reengagement Support by Region, Household Income & Race/Ethnicity

Parents in all regions agree there should be dropout reengagement programs, with parents in the Northeast being the least concerned. Those from the lowest income bracket are most likely to feel that there should be special dropout programs or services at their schools. Parents from all racial/ethnic groups strongly agree that there should be dropout reengagement programs in high schools, with Black parents being the most enthusiastic—nearly 100% of Black parents would like to have special programs or services for dropouts in their schools.

 

Q. Do you think there should be special programs or services available to dropouts who want to reenter school?

 

*Displaying affirmative responses

 

 

Most Effective Measures toward Reengagement

Q. Which of the following do you think are most effective in getting current or at-risk dropouts back on track to graduate?

 

 

Reengagement Solutions by Region

Parents across all regions believe that having a teacher or staff member who cares about the student would be the most effective measure for getting current or at-risk dropouts to reengage.

 

Q. Which of the following do you think are most effective in getting current or at-risk dropouts back on track to graduate?

 

Reengagement Solutions by Household Income

Parents from the lowest income households are more likely to say a flexible schedule would help current or at-risk dropouts to reengage, while parents from the highest income households are more likely than other parents to say having a group of friends who are still in school would make a difference.

 

Q. Which of the following do you think are most effective in getting current or at-risk dropouts back on track to graduate?

 

Reengagement Solutions by Race/Ethnicity

Black parents are the least likely to say that having a group of friends who are still in school would make a difference. Hispanic parents feel more strongly than other parents that additional academic support would be helpful. White and Hispanic parents are more likely than Black parents to feel that if the students had more flexible schedules it would help them reengage.

 

Q. Which of the following do you think are most effective in getting current or at-risk dropouts back on track to graduate?