The Early College High School Model as a Means of Reducing Or Eliminating the Achievement Gap for Students from Traditionally Underrepresented Populations

The Early College High School Model as a Means of Reducing Or Eliminating the Achievement Gap for Students from Traditionally Underrepresented Populations PDF Author: Matthew G. Bramucci
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dual enrollment
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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An Examination of the Effectiveness of an Early College High School on Student Performance, Attendance Rates, Graduation Rates and Dropout Rates

An Examination of the Effectiveness of an Early College High School on Student Performance, Attendance Rates, Graduation Rates and Dropout Rates PDF Author: Kristi Honoré
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages :

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Throughout the history of education, school leaders have implemented a variety of school reform initiatives to close achievement gaps for students who are low socioeconomically status, English language learners, and students of color; yet not only is this population of students faced with an achievement gap, they are also identified as underrepresented in higher education institutions. The Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI) was created to provide an avenue for the aforementioned students to graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree or 60 college credit hours. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if statistical differences exist in students’ performance on the Exit Level of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and the differences in the frequencies of attendance rates, dropout rates, and graduation rates between students who attend an early college high school and students attending a traditional comprehensive high school. This study was conducted in a large urban school district in southeast Texas. To measure student achievement, the Exit Level TAKS scores and the SAT scores were examined using descriptive statistics. Two-tailed t-tests were used to compare the mean of the students’ TAKS and SAT scores between the Early College High School and the Traditional Comprehensive High School. Descriptive statistics was utilized to examine the differences in the frequencies of students’ attendance, dropout rates, and graduation rates between the Early College High School and the Traditional Comprehensive High School. Additionally, the perspectives on the effectiveness of the ECHSI of the principal, counselor, and teachers from the Early College High School were retrieved by the use of focus groups with semi-structured interviews. Findings from this study indicated that there was not a significant difference in student academic performance on the TAKS between students who attended the Early College High School and students who attended the Traditional Comprehensive High School, yet there was a significant difference in student academic performance on the SAT reading and writing. Findings from this study also indicated that the attendance rates were higher at the Early College High School and the dropout rates were lower than the Traditional Comprehensive High School. Furthermore, the graduation rates for the Early College High School were higher than the Traditional Comprehensive High School, yet both schools experienced a decline in graduation rates during the 2012 -2013 school year. The common themes derived from the focus group semi-structured interviews highlighted the need for student tutorials within an effective AVID program, the need for Texas Success Initiative (TSI) support, the positive culture and climate of the campus which allows for student leadership opportunities, the need to enhance community partner engagement and support, the need for communication with parents and students about the rigor of the course curriculum including policies and procedures of both institutions, and the need for Professional Learning Communities with vertical alignment among the teachers. The implications for school leaders include the need for effective AVID programs in schools to support students with study and organization skills to be successful in college level curriculum; the need for constant communication with the community college, strategic communication to parents and students on program policies and procedures; and the benefits of students participating in rigorous college courses in preparation for academic success.

Closing the Performance Gap

Closing the Performance Gap PDF Author: Larry Bernstein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 10

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Students entering high school in 9th grade face a formidable challenge. The transition to high school from 8th grade brings with it increased risks for all students. For example, students in 9th grade are anywhere from three to five times more likely to fail a class than students in any other grade. Similarly, ninth grade retention rates are higher than in any other grade. More importantly, research indicates that 70 to 80 percent of students failing in 9th grade will eventually dropout of high school. Early College High Schools (ECHS) are a new model merging high school and college designed to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and enroll and succeed in college. This paper presents results from a longitudinal, experimental study of ECHS, tracking students from 9th grade through graduation from high school and enrollment in college. This paper will examine impacts of the ECHS model on "underprepared" students, defined as those students who did not pass the 8th grade state exams in either or both reading and math. "Prepared" students, on the other hand, are those passing both exams. In this paper, the authors report on the impact of the model on the performance gaps between underprepared and prepared students from 9th-11th grades. This paper addresses the following specific research questions: (1) Are underprepared students more likely to be from traditionally underrepresented groups such as first generation, minority and free/reduced price lunch students?; (2) What is the impact of the ECHS model on these students' academic performance?; and (3) How does that impact compare to the impact on students who are prepared? This study focuses on ECHSs as implemented in North Carolina. North Carolina has the largest concentration of ECHSs in the country, with over 70 across the state; all managed by the same entity, the North Carolina New Schools. The 19 schools that are a part of this study are geographically distributed throughout the state; they include schools in rural and urban areas, schools with predominantly white populations and schools with predominantly African American populations. Results from this experimental study show that it is possible for schools to have an impact on students entering high school at-risk for academic failure and dropout. These data suggest to us that the reduction or elimination of performance gaps in the early college is a product of a purposeful implementation of a high quality learning environment with high expectations, rigorous courses and instruction, positive relationships, extensive student support, and teachers taking responsibility for student learning. Tables and figures are appended.

Redesigning an Early College High School's Application Process and Support System to Improve Equity and Student Success

Redesigning an Early College High School's Application Process and Support System to Improve Equity and Student Success PDF Author: Noah Levinson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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The missions of most early college high schools center around closing the achievement gap for students underrepresented in higher education - low-income, first-generation collegegoers, and people of color. Unfortunately, these same students often times are also underrepresented in early college high schools. This was the case for the subject of this thesis, a high-performing school in rural northern California that had lost sight of its original charge. In 2016, the school's staff began the hard work of shifting to an equity-focused mindset. They rewrote the mission statement, identified and removed barriers to entry, and developed multitiered systems of support. This paper documents and assesses that work by answering two questions. One, to what extent were barriers of entry removed for at-promise students? And two, to what extent was the achievement gap closed for these students once they attended the school? The researcher analyzed a variety of quantitative data to answer these questions. The results demonstrate promising shifts in the demographic makeup of the school (the percentage of at-promise students rose from 44% to 66%). They also reveal a need for further examination and expansion of supports. This paper highlights the work still required for the school to fully meet its mission. It also serves as a call to action -and blueprint- for all early college high schools to reflect on their own practices through a lens of equity.

Early College High School Program and the Effect on the Academic Performance of Students in a Large Urban School

Early College High School Program and the Effect on the Academic Performance of Students in a Large Urban School PDF Author: Darwert E. Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect early college high school, in a Dallas, Texas large urban school district, on the academic performance of students in algebra I EOC, English I EOC, Biology, English II EOC, and the college readiness standards set by College Board on the PSAT. If a relationship existed, this study sought to determine students who participate in early college high school will have a higher success rate on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and PSAT. In the state of Texas, state leaders were committed in closing the achievement gap and increase the number of minority students entering post-secondary institution. In 2006, Texas’ first early college high school was established with the sole purpose to create an innovative high school that allows students least likely to attend college an opportunity to earn a high school diploma and up to 60 college credit hours. The researcher examined STAAR EOC scores in 2015–2016, and 2016 PSAT results compared to students in a traditional high school. The scores were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. Overall, the strength of the relationship between ECHS and STAAR was significant. The relationship between ECHS and PSAT was also significant. The results of the study would suggest that the relationship of the early college high school program on student academic performance and PSAT total score was significant.

Achieving College Dreams

Achieving College Dreams PDF Author: Rhona S. Weinstein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190260904
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 441

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Book Description
Achieving College Dreams: How a University-Charter District Partnership Created an Early College High School tells the fascinating story of a long-standing partnership between a university and charter district to create an early-college high school for first-generation college youth. Reflecting community-engaged scholarship and diverse voices, this book uniquely extends the knowledge base about how to better prepare low-income students of color for college eligibility and academic success.

Bridging the Achievement Gap

Bridging the Achievement Gap PDF Author: John E. Chubb
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0815714025
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
The achievement gap between white students and African American and Hispanic students has been debated by scholars and lamented by policymakers since it was first documented in 1966. The average black or Hispanic secondary school student currently achieves at about the same level as the average white student in the lowest quartile of white achievement. Black and Hispanic students are much less likely than white students to graduate from high school, acquire a college or advanced degree, or earn a middle-class living. They are also much more likely than whites to suffer social problems that often accompany low income. While educators have gained an understanding of the causes and effects of the education achievement gap, they have been less successful in finding ways to eliminate it—until now. This book provides, for the first time in one place, evidence that the achievement gap can be bridged. A variety of schools and school reforms are boosting the achievement of black and Hispanic students to levels nearing those of whites. Bridging the Achievement Gap brings together the findings of renowned education scholars who show how various states, school districts, and individual schools have lifted the achievement levels of poor and minority students. The most promising strategies include focusing on core academic skills, reducing class size, enrolling students in more challenging courses, administering annual achievement assessment tests, creating schools with a culture of competition and success, and offering vouchers in big-city school districts. While implementing new educational programs on a large scale is fraught with difficulties, these successful reform efforts offer what could be the start of widespread effective solutions for bridging the achievement gap.

The Feasibility of Implementing Early College Instructional Strategies and Design Principles in Traditional High Schools as a Reform

The Feasibility of Implementing Early College Instructional Strategies and Design Principles in Traditional High Schools as a Reform PDF Author: Sheila Smith Wyont
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Low-income high school students
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Early college high schools were developed as a partnership between school districts and colleges to provide students an opportunity to earn a high school diploma concurrently with an associate’s degree or transferable college credit at little or no cost. In 2011, North Carolina New Schools implemented the Rural Innovative Initiative with the purpose of expanding college readiness and reducing dropouts by applying early college design principles and strategies into 18 existing traditional high schools in low-wealth districts. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of implementation of early college principles and strategies into traditional high schools. The study included five traditional high schools that were a part of the Rural Innovative Initiative. -- The researcher used a mixed-methods approach to conduct this study. Quantitative data were collected including graduation rates, student growth rates, and end-of-course proficiency means for each of the five traditional high schools. Teachers were surveyed to analyze their perspectives of the early college principles. Qualitative data were collected from principal interview responses to a set of predetermined interview questions. -- The three research questions addressed changes in student achievement data, teacher perspectives of the early college design principles, and principal perspectives of implementation of early college strategies. -- Data indicated that the five high schools experienced an increase in graduation rates following implementation of the early college model. Four of the five high schools also had an increase in student growth. The survey and interview data from teachers and principals indicated that the early college design principles were implemented. Findings suggest that early college strategies and design principles can be implemented in traditional high schools as a reform model.

Closing the Achievement Gap

Closing the Achievement Gap PDF Author: Philip Martin Ensberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
The persistence of the achievement gap poses a challenge to a merit-based school system. Its existence supports social scientists' assertions that schools inevitably recreate or reproduce the existing social hierarchy. Growing evidence counters this view, however, showing that particular school features and conditions can act as mediations that help reduce the achievement gap. This study examines four southern California high schools with proven success in reducing the achievement gap to better understand which school features and conditions are most important to improving achievement among underrepresented students. Findings support Oakes' (2003) Seven Critical Conditions for College Access and suggest seven additional features: strong student-teacher rapport, effective teaching strategies (especially cooperative learning and differentiation), combination schools (combining high schools with middle and elementary schools), smaller schools, high expectations, rigorous and accessible course offerings, and time for teachers to plan together. A contrast of traditional schools and charter schools suggests that there are a few advantages for each school model: traditional schools offer have more resources and more course choices; charter schools offer greater flexibility over school structure, more teacher autonomy over pedagogy and curriculum, and more local control over hiring and firing school personnel.

Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business PDF Author: Pedro A. Noguera
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470384441
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
In this groundbreaking book, co-editors Pedro Noguera and Jean Yonemura Wing, and their collaborators investigated the dynamics of race and achievement at Berkeley High School–a large public high school that the New York Times called "the most integrated high school in America." Berkeley's diverse student population clearly illustrates the "achievement gap" phenomenon in our schools. Unfinished Business brings to light the hidden inequities of schools–where cultural attitudes, academic tracking, curricular access, and after-school activities serve as sorting mechanisms that set students on paths of success or failure.