1. P RACTICAL S TRATEGIES AND T OOLS TO I NCREASE THE G RADUATION R ATE P RESENTATION BY K AREN M.T ATUM, P H.D., 2013

2. Alabama Graduation Tracking system

3. Cohort Summary 2009-2010 (06-07)2010-2011 (07-08) 2011-2012 (08-09) Pre-Report Results Cohort Total358244236 Graduates193 54%211 86%196 83% Completers 0 0%6 2% 12 5% Still Enrolled 11 3%10 4% 2 1% Dropouts 4 1%15 6% 10 4% Withdrawn (still in cohort) 11 3%0 0% 5 2% Missing Records 34 9%0 0% No shows 101 28%2 1% 11 5% Other 4 1%- - C OHORT S UMMARY M ACON C OUNTY

4. C OHORT S UMMARY Longitundinal view shows:  Decrease in Enrollment?  Inconsistency from year to year?  Increase in Dropouts?  Lack of Documentation?  Lack of Intervention and student support?  All of the above?

5. W HY DO STUDENTS FAIL ?  Attendance is 8 times more predictive of failure than prior test scores. Demographic & economic background characteristics explain 7% of course failures Eighth-grade test scores explain an additional 5% (12%total) Student behaviors-absences and effort - explain an additional 61% (73% total)  Failures are much more strongly related to course absence than to incoming achievement.

6. W HEN DO STUDENTS GET OFF TRACK ?  Attendance is often a key barometer of a student’s connection with schooling. The majority of students who drop out first stop attending school on a regular basis. In many cases their attendance decreases over several years. In the year before dropping out, it is common for students to attend school less than 70% of the time. Many times chronic attendance problems START in elementary school and a pattern of non-compliant behavior begins. However, attendance is not the only indicator (ALSDE, 2009).

7. E ARLY W ARNING S YSTEMS It is now possible to identify who among elementary, middle, and high school students will likely drop out of high school unless on-going interventions occur. ABC’s of Dropout Prevention Attendance Behavior Course Failure

8. W HY ARE STUDENTS DROPPING OUT ?  Life Events: pregnancy, incarceration, health, needing to work.  Fade Outs: Students don’t see the point of staying in school. Often they have decent grades and attendance. They become disillusioned with school and believe they can make in life without a diploma.  Push Outs: Some students believe they are viewed as behavioral problems or low achievers and seldom attend school. Feeling that they are not capable of succeeding. They see administrative rules such as attendance policies as a mechanism to push them out.  Failure to Succeed at Transition Points: 3-4, 5-6, 8-9, 9-10

9. H OW DO WE RESPOND ?  Identification of students at risk  Alignment of resources  On-going development of school supports  Graduation Tracking System (STI-INFOCUS)

10. STI T ECHNOLOGY  Captures student information  Utilized for K-12 grade levels  Ninth grade is a “make or break” period  Identify Early Warning Indicators  Attendance  Behavior  Course Performance https://sti.maconk12.org/InformationNOW

11. A LABAMA G RADUATE T RACKING S YSTEM (GTS)  Attendance  Monitors attendance at determined intervals (e.g. first 20 days, each quarter) during year  Behavior  Identifies suspensions as an indicator of students at- risk of dropping out of school  Course Performance  Cumulative Grade Average  Credits Earned (end of term, semester, or year)

12. GTS ( CONT.)  Factor Count  Identifies students most at-risk based on three factors above: Attendance, Behavior, Course Performance Factor count of 3 is at-risk on all three indicators Factor count of 2 is at-risk based on two of three indicators Factor count of 1 is at-risk based on one of the three indicators

13. GTS ( CONT.)  School Benchmarks  Allows a school to set benchmarks based on school specific criteria  Establish a method to “red-flag” students off- track for graduation (provide timely interventions)

14. IndicatorsSchool Benchmark (red flag)District Benchmark AbsenteeismMiss 10% or more of instructional time; Reflect low attendance (80%) or lower) during transition grades; BehaviorMiss 10% or more of instructional time due to “out-of-class suspensions”; Receive failing marks for classroom behavior during grade 6; Course PerformanceFail two or more core courses, accumulate fewer credits than the number required for promotion, or have a 2.0 or lower CGA. Earn an F in English or math during grade 6 or 8; Fail to earn promotion from grade 9 to grade 10; Show significant decline in grades at transition points; Are retained in any grade during grades K-8 or HS. R ED F LAGS

15. R EFERENCES  www.alsde www.alsde  https://sti.maconk12.org/InformationNOW https://sti.maconk12.org/InformationNOW  Alabama State Department of Education (2012). Department of Prevention and Support.