9-12

After a thorough literature search, researchers identified 22 rigorous quantitative studies of ninth-grade remediation programs, 10 of which qualified for the full review according to the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)’s Study Design and Implementation Assessment Device (DIAD). The 10 studies included in the full review were too divergent in the focus and construction of the programs they assessed for the authors to reliably draw conclusions about the overall magnitude and direction of effect sizes.

This study from Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. evaluated 16 dropout programs for middle and high school students under the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program (SDDP). Analysis and discussion mostly focus on the aggregate impact of programs on middle schools or high schools, rather than on specific programs. The study found that middle school programs had a significant effect in reducing dropout only if they were implemented with high intensity. The programs, regardless of intensity, did not have an impact on student learning (e.g., grades, test scores).

This study assessed the impact on tenth grade students of attending high schools whose practices are consistent with the school-restructuring movement. Using data on a sample of 11,794 sophomores in 830 high schools from the first two waves of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), the authors evaluated restructuring effects on students' gains in engagement and achievement in four subjects and the social distribution of those gains.

This 2003 study from the Center for Educational Policy Research analyzed 66 state-administered standardized tests from 20 states to determine whether they adequately gauge whether students are prepared for introductory-level college courses. The report concludes that state exams are largely not aligned with the standards generally thought to lead to college readiness and success

This report, produced by the Comprehensive School Reform Quality (CSRQ) Center, outlines key issues educators face in school and district improvement including transitions, dropouts, postsecondary readiness, violence, and literacy. The report includes examples of how these issues have been addressed and offers further recommendations.

This study examined three different types of scheduling used in high schools: a traditional schedule, an A/B block schedule, and a 4 x 4 block schedule. The sample of 355 students was drawn from a city in northern Colorado where junior high schools that employed similar schedules served as feeders to the high schools. Findings from this study indicate that students participating in the school where 4 x 4 block scheduling is used may have an advantage in math and reading achievement over students in traditional and A/B schedules. Significant gains were discovered in reading achievement.