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Southern
Regional
Education
Board
HSTW
Getting At-Risk Students Off to a Good Start in Grade Nine
Gene Bottoms
Senior Vice President
Redesigning the Ninth-Grade Experience
Reduce Failure, Improve Achievement and Increase High School Graduation Rates
http://www.sreb.org/publications/2008/08V06_9th-grade_redesign.pdf
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How to Identify At-Risk Students
Look for those incoming ninth-grade students who:have poor attendanceexperienced repeated disciplinary
problemsdid not meet standards on the
eighth-grade state assessmentfailed one or more courses in grade
eight (or failed the entire grade)have repeated one or more grades
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HSTWDoes your school need to redesign the ninth grade?
Survey
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HSTWWhy are we concerned with reducing
failure rates in the ninth grade?
The failure rate in grade nine remains higher than the rate in any other grade level.
Students who are unprepared for high school and fail in the ninth grade are far less likely to graduate. Nationally, at least 25 percent of students fail to
complete high school. Forty-five percent of dropouts reported that they
entered high school unprepared for rigorous studies.
Each high school dropout costs a state between $3,000 and $5,000 per year.
After age 25, dropouts lose $10,000 each year in income.
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HSTWWhat students need to be inspired to
make the effort to succeed:
Goals developed through exploring career
and educational options
A sense of their own value from the
relationships developed with adults at their
school through the teacher-adviser program
Clearly defined standards for quality work and
adequate support to achieve these standards
An understanding of the relevance of
curricular content and skills to their future
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Regional
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HSTWGoals for a Redesigned Ninth-Grade Experience
By the end of grade nine, students should:complete college-preparatory English and
Algebra Ideclare a goal beyond high school that they can
visualize and commit to achieveestablish a connection with an adult who will
assist and support them throughout high schooldevelop effective study, relationship and time
management skills and other habits of successdevelop an understanding that, through smart
effort, they can improve their achievement
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HSTWComponents of an Effective
Ninth-Grade Redesign
Work with middle grades schools to orient students to high school life.
Provide a summer bridge program for students.
Establish a ninth-grade academy in which at-risk students take double periods of English and mathematics.
Enroll students in career exploratory courses. Participate in a teacher-adviser program to
help students receive extra help and set career and educational goals.
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HSTWEarly Orientation and Preparation
in the Middle Grades
What would an effective orientation and preparation in the middle grades look like?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 9
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HSTWEarly Orientation and Preparation
in the Middle Grades
Familiarize students with high school expectations.
Align the middle grades core academic curriculum, classroom assignments and assessments to high school readiness standards.
Send regular messages to and meet with parents and students.
Correct misinformation and alleviate students’ fear of high school.
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HSTW
Summer Bridge Program
What are the characteristics of an effective summer bridge program?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 11
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HSTW
Summer Bridge Program
Addresses specific academic deficits particularly in language arts, reading and mathematics
Assists students in acquiring coping, study, relationship and time management skills
Introduces students to the important role of high school in achieving their goals Career exploration
Four to six weeks in length Taught by the best 8th- and 9th-grade teachers Uses an out-of-box approach to instruction
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The Grady Approach
Attitudes Toward Learning (ATL)Week-long summer programReviews English and math academic
skillsStrengthens study skillsProvides team-building activities
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The POLYTECH Approach
Four-week summer program Help students meet standards for
college-preparatory English and Algebra I
Integrated instructional approach CT teachers teach math with a hands-
on, real-world approach
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Ninth-Grade Academy
What makes an effective ninth-grade academy?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 15
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HSTW
Ninth-Grade Academy
Small learning communitiesQuality teachers
Low student-to-teacher ratioNo higher than in other grade levels
Make best teachers team leadersStrong leadershipCommon time to plan
interdisciplinary activities, project and themes
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English Catch-Up Course
What would an effective reading/English catch-up course look like?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 17
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HSTWEnglish Catch-Up Course
Multi-day units designed around essential standards and literacy strategies
High-interest and grade-level reading content
Opportunities to apply communication skills
Intentional teaching of the reading, writing and study strategies students can use to succeed in all classes
Use of technology and software applications
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HSTW
Mathematics Catch-Up Course
What would an effective mathematics catch-up course look like?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 19
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HSTW
Mathematics Catch-Up Course
Multi-day standards-based units designed around essential knowledge and skills
Opportunities to apply algebra and pre-algebra skills to solve real-world problems
Opportunities for group learningUse of technologyVaried classroom assignments
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The Parkview Approach
Enrolled 144 of 299 ninth-grade students in the math catch-up course in fall and Algebra I in spring.Algebra I failure rate decreased by 25
percentPercentage of white students above
Proficient on Algebra I EOCT increased by 7 points and increased by 30 points for black students.
Achievement gap on Algebra I between white and black students decreased from 26 points to 4 points
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HSTW
Career Exploratory Course
Why enroll students in a career exploratory course in grade nine?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 22
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Regional
Education
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HSTW
Career Exploratory Course
What would a ninth-grade exploratory course that is designed to advance reading and mathematics achievement look like?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 23
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Regional
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HSTW
Career Exploratory Course
Utilizes technology Blends rigorous academics in reading,
writing, mathematics and science with career content
Requires students to apply academic learning to authentic projects typical of the career field
Develops the skills that employers desire of new employees
Provides opportunities to participate in job shadowing, tour local businesses and interview leaders in the career field
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Schedule
What would a ninth-grade schedule aimed at catching up at-risk students and getting more students to meet grade-level standards look like?
Getting At-Risk Students off to a Good Start 25
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Schedule
Fall Term Spring Term
Catch-Up English* College-Prep English
Catch-Up Mathematics* Algebra I
Science/Social Studies Science/Social Studies
Lab and Project-Based Career Exploratory Course
*Students not needing the catch-up course take another elective or a college-prep course.
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Guidance, Advisement and Support
Why is it important to connect each student to an adult adviser?
What would an adviser do?
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Guidance, Advisement and Support
First line of defense against the disengagement that leads to dropping out
Advise 12-15 students and meet with them weekly to help them adjust to the demands of high school
Call parents when students are absent Involve and train parents in supporting their
children’s education Ensure students’ work is meeting course
standards Connect students to extra help
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HSTW
Guidance, Advisement and Support
Why is it important to adopt a grading policy in which success is the only option?
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Guidance, Advisement and Support
Failure does not motivate at-risk students.
If you fail the ninth grade, your chances of finishing high school are nominal.
Passing students who do not meet standards does little to help them.
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Guidance, Advisement and Support
What conditions are necessary for a no-failure option?
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HSTW
Guidance, Advisement and Support
Implementation of a credit recovery programA student who fails a course may use
online or regular instruction during a study period or an elective period before or after school time or on Saturdays to pass the course.
Extra help and extra time built into the schedule
Teachers agree on what grade-level assignments and work looks like
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HSTW
Guidance, Advisement and Support
Implementation of and support for a no-zero policyGive students an “I” (incomplete)
instead of a D, F or zeroSends the message that all work is
important and must be completed at a certain standard
Teachers believe that success, not failure, motivates
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HSTW
Getting Started:Actions to Take Now
How do you get started in achieving greater success in grade nine with at-risk students?
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HSTWGetting Started:
Actions to Take Now
Convene middle grades and high school leaders.
Develop policies and methods to track ninth-grade failure rates and student achievement.
Set target improvement goals. Send teams of teachers to professional
development. Provide resources to modernize
career/technical labs.
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HSTWGetting Started:
Actions to Take Now
Establish a block schedule. Create incentives for teachers to teach
ninth-grade courses. Encourage school and teacher leaders
to visit schools implementing an effective redesign.
Urge teacher teams to meet. Train teachers to serve as teacher-
advisers.
