Improving California鈥檚 education data system is often recommended as one of the first steps toward tackling the many troubles facing schools in the nation鈥檚 largest state. And right up near the top of that list of problems is the high school dropout rate.
The fact that no one really knows with any certainty how many students quit school before they graduate was one of the reasons for the creation of the
Headed by Russell W. Rumberger, an education professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the project aims to offer a California-specific focus on a national problem and identify remedies suited to the state鈥檚 schools.
鈥淪ome of the solutions will have to focus on English-learners, because that鈥檚 who鈥檚 dropping out,鈥� said Mr. Rumberger, who directs UC-Santa Barbara鈥檚 Linguistic Minority Research Institute, which studies issues and provides professional development related to English-language learners.
The project involves a closer relationship between research and policy than is typical in most states. Since the initiative started more than a year ago, a policy committee has explored ways the state can respond quickly to the findings identified in the research.
Seen as Model
In one measure of its potential relevance for other states tackling the dropout problem, the project will be featured at community-based forums in all 50 states that Civic Enterprises, a Washington-based public-policy firm, is organizing over the next three years with the help of the National Governors Association.
See other stories on education issues in California. See data on California鈥檚 public school system.
For more stories on this topic see Research.
鈥淭o me, it is the model of what could be created in other states around the country,鈥� said John Bridgeland, the president and chief executive officer of . The organization is one of several groups drawing attention to the 鈥渟ilent epidemic鈥� of dropping out of school.
Mr. Rumberger said a 鈥渃onfluence of things鈥� sets the California Dropout Research Project apart, including the desire of the foundations financing the research to influence policy, as well as a strong interest in the issue from state Sen. Darrell Steinberg. A Democrat from Sacramento who served on the policy committee, Mr. Steinberg also chaired the legislature鈥檚 Select Committee on High School Graduation, which has already introduced bills inspired by the project鈥檚 recommendations.
Having help 鈥渢o get on the agenda is a huge plus,鈥� Mr. Rumberger said. 鈥淚t gives you a platform for your work.鈥�
Mr. Rumberger also said he was 鈥渋tching to do something different鈥� from just writing scholarly articles and waiting for them to be published in academic journals.
A study says California鈥檚 official graduation rate fails to count students in grades 9, 10, and 11 who neither drop out nor advance to the next grade (shown here as unknown), and 12th graders who neither drop out nor graduate (nongraduates).
SOURCE: California Dropout Research Project
Economic Impact
To date, the research project鈥檚 work has produced a policy report, with recommendations for schools, districts, and the state, and a series of easy-to-read policy briefs that have been distributed to both legislators and schools superintendents across the state. The work is also being released a little at a time instead of as one hard-to-digest document, a strategy that Mr. Rumberger said 鈥渒eeps the issue in the public light.鈥�
One of the policy briefs focuses on the opinions and attitudes of California high school students and their desire for high school courses to be more engaging and connected to the types of careers they might pursue.
鈥淪tudents were eager to see the relevance of what they were learning,鈥� the brief says, 鈥渁nd wanted materials presented in a way that was meaningful to them.鈥�
Even though California鈥檚 graduation rate can鈥檛 be accurately calculated without a longitudinal student-data system, it鈥檚 somewhere around 75 percent. Among African-American students, though, the estimated graduation rate is 57 percent; among Hispanic students, it鈥檚 about 60 percent. That compares with 84 percent for Asian students and 77 percent for white students. Among English-learners, the graduation rate is about 70 percent.
According to a study written by economists Clive R. Belfield, of Queens College, City University of New York, and Henry M. Levin, of Teachers College, Columbia University, the state loses $46.4 billion for each cohort of California residents that reaches age 20 without a diploma, after the lifetime costs of their lower earnings, higher medical costs, and increased likelihood of needing public assistance or committing crimes are taken into account. Each year, that number is about 120,000 young people.
鈥淐alifornia would realize a sizable economic gain by investing in educational interventions that are both effective at raising the high school graduation rate and in generating benefits exceeding their costs,鈥� the economists write.
Echoing a finding in 鈥淕etting Down to Facts,鈥� a massive research project on California鈥檚 education system released last year, Mr. Rumberger鈥檚 project also points to the lack of information about whether the state鈥檚 structure of 鈥渃ategorical鈥� grant programs is actually resulting in measurable improvements in schools with high dropout rates. ( March 19, 2007.)
鈥淭he state has various programs targeted to youth at risk, but the effectiveness of these programs is unknown because they are rarely, if ever, evaluated,鈥� the dropout project鈥檚 policy report says.
New Standards Urged
In its recommendations for school districts, the report stresses that focusing just on keeping struggling students in school might not be enough for schools with large numbers of dropouts. Instead, it advises, 鈥渟choolwide reform strategies鈥� should be adopted at both the middle and high school levels.
The report emphasizes that districts and schools probably don鈥檛 have the 鈥渃apacity鈥� to improve graduation rates on their own. And while it recognizes the contribution of outside experts, Mr. Rumberger described the use of consultants as a 鈥渘ecessary, but not sufficient,鈥� approach to addressing the problem.
The state, the policy report says, should adopt high-school-reform standards, just as it has adopted academic-content standards, in order to give school personnel specific targets for improving graduation rates.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, signed legislation in October that will require schools to report 8th and 9th grade dropout rates as part of the state accountability system.
Eighth grade was included because of the evidence that many students begin the process of dropping out even before high school, and to give 鈥渕iddle schools a responsibility that they might not be so focused on right now,鈥� said Susanna Cooper, a consultant to Sen. Steinberg. The law takes effect in 2011.
Legislative Response
In part because of the collaboration between the researchers and state policymakers, other bills have materialized as a result of the California Dropout Research Project. So far this year, two bills inspired by the research have been approved by the education committee of the state Senate.
One would increase schools鈥� target graduation rate for purposes of accountability reporting under the the federal No Child Left Behind Act from 83.5 percent to 90 percent. It would also require schools鈥攁s part of making adequate yearly progress under the NCLB law鈥攖o reduce by at least 10 percent the difference between their current graduation rates and the state goal every two years.
The other bill would give schools partial credit for helping students meet all the requirements for graduation in five or six years. Currently, schools only receive credit in the state accountability system鈥攖he Academic Performance Index鈥攆or students who finish in four years.
But some students need additional help to pass the state鈥檚 high school exit exam, and others lack enough credits, and therefore need more time to finish their studies, Mr. Rumberger and Ms. Cooper said.
Mr. Rumberger also believes the state should consider incorporating some nonacademic skills that are important for success in college and work, such as punctuality and community involvement, into its requirements for graduation.
He noted state schools Superintendent Jack O鈥機onnell鈥檚 announcement earlier this year that California would join the American Diploma Project, a network of states organized by the Washington-based organization Achieve that is working to match K-12 standards with the demands of college and work. But so far, the network has focused only on academic skills.
Jay Smink, the executive director of the National Dropout Prevention Center, located at Clemson University in South Carolina, said that because the California project is well funded, at $850,000 for roughly a year, it has covered an unusually large amount of ground.
鈥淭he project not only provides great information for the policymakers in California, it adds significant value to other researchers and practitioners elsewhere,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 am not aware of this kind of intense research in other states.鈥�
Because Mr. Rumberger鈥檚 work has also raised new research questions, he鈥檚 now asking the philanthropies that paid for the studies鈥攖he Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation鈥攖o extend the project, possibly for another year. (The Gates and Hewlett foundations also help pay for work by 澳门跑狗论坛.)
鈥淚鈥檝e kind of come to realize that the work doesn鈥檛 stop once the work is done and the policy recommendations are made,鈥� Mr. Rumberger said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a role for research to play.鈥�
