In recent decades, increasing attention has been paid to the number of adolescents experiencing extended absences from school due to mental health crises. Upon returning to school, these students often face difficulties in functioning, risk of relapse, and vulnerability to academic failure and social isolation. This paper presents results of a…

In 2007, spurred by University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research reports, leadership at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a new targeted approach to reducing course failure in the ninth grade. The research suggested that the transition between eighth and ninth grade played a critical role in shaping…

San Francisco's Bridge to Success (BtS) initiative brings together the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), the City College of San Francisco (CCSF), and key community organizations to promote postsecondary success for underrepresented students. Partners agree that the first step in achieving this…

As state and national policymakers look for ways to improve the rigor of the high school curriculum and enhance student readiness for college, many are turning their attention to increasing course requirements in core academic high school subjects. Existing research shows that students who take high-level course sequences learn more in high school…

This worksheet from the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) is an optional tool to help schools organize multiple years of student and program data for the purpose of identifying school-completion needs that can be addressed through the implementation of research-based interventions. It is designed for use…

Researchers target 9th grade as the make or break year for completing high school. During the 9th-grade year, many students for the first time have to earn passing grades in core courses, and these core courses are typically some of the toughest and most rigorous academic classes a student must take in high school. Furthermore, the rising use of…

The reason that the school dropout crisis is now referred to as a "silent epidemic" is because, when we weren't paying attention, the graduation rate in our country slipped to a level that threatens the very health and well-being of our society. Each year, almost one-third of all public high school students--and nearly one-half of all…