Research studies show that students' grades are more predictive than test scores of their future academic success, including high school and post-secondary outcomes. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) recognizes the importance of grades through its longstanding "Bs or Better" campaign. Yet within CPS, boys' grades are consistently lower than…

This quantitative, ex post facto study is to examine what differences exist, if any, in ACT Aspire math scores based on gender, instructional method, and the interaction between gender and instructional method among ninth grade students taking Algebra 1 in a school district located in Northeast Arkansas. Using a two-way ANOVA, the first main…

At The Hockaday School, a private, single-sex school in Texas, many students struggle as they make the transition from eighth to ninth grade. Students feed into the ninth grade from within the school, or from other public and private schools, and come from either boarding or day-school backgrounds. Students may be local, domestic, or…

Objectives: At the K-12 level, "CS for All" initiatives across the country strive to increase equitable access to and participation in computer science (CS). However, there are many open questions about the implementation and effectiveness of these initiatives, including the extent to which exposing young people to CS early on can shape…

The entrance into ninth grade is a critical time for urban high school students. A successful transition is needed to ensure that students do not fall behind and graduate on time with their cohort. There was a need to study the perceptions of teachers to better understand specific issues surrounding the transition to high school. The purpose of…

The Kansas Graduate and Dropout Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of how the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) calculates and reports the Adjusted Cohort Graduation and Annual Dropout Rates. Sections include: (1) Introduction; (2) Terminology; (3) Data Sources; (4) Kansas Individual Data on Students (KIDS) Reports; (5) Public…

In this practice brief, we describe several current examples of approaches that are aimed at improving outcomes for students entering high school. Additionally, we present strategies to disrupt the negative trajectory for students with EBD, who seldom receive coordinated, individualized supports during the critical transition from middle to high…

High school students in accelerated classes face heightened school-related stressors but have access to few specialized supports. This article describes the development and initial application of the Motivation, Assessment, and Planning (MAP) intervention, developed to meet the needs of freshmen in Advanced Placement (AP) and International…

This Statistics in Brief provides information about the occupational expectations of high school freshmen in 2009 and how their expectations changed (or did not) by the spring of 2012. The focus is on expectations for a career in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field, defined in this report as science, technology,…

In partnership with the Midwest Dropout Prevention Research Alliance the study team used student-level data and a five-step process to identify the most accurate indicators of students' failure to graduate from high school on time. Student-level data came from attendance records, transcripts, and discipline records of grade 8 and 9 students in…

This study analyzed data on students in three Ohio school districts who had completed grades 8 and 9 to determine which data elements were the most accurate indicators of students' failure to graduate from high school on time. The most accurate indicators varied by district and grade level, which underscores the importance of having school systems…

The purpose of the study was to identify the student's perspective of the difficulties of transitioning from eighth grade to high school. The intent of gathering this information was to provide primary source data for additional study and development of effective transition experiences for students entering the ninth grade. The study identified…

Educators have noticed students moving from eighth grade middle school programs to ninth grade high school environments encounter difficulties during the first year of the transition. Students who do not successfully transition to high school run the risk of repeating ninth grade, falling behind their peers and possibly dropping out of high…

Many students enter large comprehensive high schools without having the necessary social and academic skills or understanding of what will be expected of them as they move through the high school curriculum. To help a higher number of students experience success, schools must help them develop academic, social, and self-management skills.…

Student engagement is an essential part of the many transitions adolescents must make on their way to self-sufficient adulthood. Motivating students to learn at pivotal points in their school careers, especially as they transition into high school, is sometimes difficult. The Freshman Transition Initiative (FTI) at The George Washington University…