In this paper, we report results from a multisite, student-level randomized controlled trial that examined the impact of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model on ninth-grade students. The BARR model is a comprehensive, strength-based approach that uses eight interlocking strategies to build intentional staff-to-staff, staff-to-student,…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation and impacts of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model in its first year of implementation in 66 schools across the U.S. and to document scale-up progress during the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant period (2017-2021). The impact evaluation included 21,529 9th grade students…

The national high school graduation rate reached its highest level in U.S. history--82 percent--during the 2013-14 school year (Kena et al., 2016)--but dropout remains a persistent problem in the Midwest and nationally. Early warning systems that use research-based warning signs to identify students at risk of dropping out have emerged as one…

The purpose of this study was to examine the association in student performance on the reading and mathematics portions of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) by analyzing the data of students who participated in Response to Intervention (RtI) or did not participate in RtI during their ninth grade school years in 2009-2010 and…

The present paper examines if developmental pathways for students at risk for academic failure can be improved through social and emotional learning (SEL). Specifically, we test this hypothesis by accounting for shifts in student engagement, a highly studied and malleable construct often inclusive of SEL interventions, as the pathway by which to…

This is the final report of a large-scale independent evaluation of the Building Assets and Reducing Risks (BARR) model in ninth grade in eleven high schools in Maine, California, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Texas. This sample of schools included large and small schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas, serving students from a wide range of…

Although high school graduation rates are rising--the national rate was 82 percent during the 2013/14 school year (U.S. Department of Education, 2015)--dropping out remains a persistent problem in the Midwest and nationally. Many schools now use early warning systems to identify students who are at risk of not graduating, with the goal of…

It is evident that the failure rate is higher among online students than in-class students at Hopkinsville Community College. An analysis of the academic records of students who enrolled in online courses for the first time at Hopkinsville indicated a 13% higher withdrawal and failure rate than those who took in-class courses over the same period…

Can success rates in a gateway course be improved by linking it to a college success course? This article describes the results of a pilot study that linked a first-year biology course that had a high drop-out and failure rate to a college success course that included study skills. The proposal to link courses came from the work of a faculty…

The Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) Model BARR is a comprehensive model that addresses the challenges that are part of the 9th grade transition year. BARR employs eight different school-wide and individual strategies that are built on positive relationships and ongoing monitoring of student data. In 2010, BARR received an Investing in…

The purposes of this study were, on one had, to determine the impact of a peer tutoring program on preventing academic failure and dropouts among first-year students (N = 100), from Civil Engineering, Economics, Pharmacy, and Chemical Engineering careers; while, on the other hand, to identify the potential benefits of such tutoring program on the…

Children who are homeless or in foster care change schools more often than their non-mobile peers. The impact of school mobility increases their risk of academic failure (Evans, 1996; Ingersoll, Scamman, & Eckerling, 1989; Mao, 1997, Mehana & Reynolds, 2003; Reynolds & Wolf, 1999). Laws enforcing the right of students to remain in…

Middle school students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience academic decline within each school year, characterized by deteriorating grades from the first grading period to the last. This study reexamines whether the Challenging Horizons Program-Consultation Model (CHP-C) effectively reduces or delays academic…

Little is known about the relative effects of post-secondary learning services for students with learning disabilities. We compared outcomes for students with learning disabilities who selected to: (1) take an academic learning success course (course-intervention), (2) have regular individual interventions (high-intervention) or (3) use services…

With over two thirds of high school graduates going on to pursue postsecondary options after high school and over one fourth at 4-year institutions and nearly half at 2-year schools never reaching their sophomore year, it is evident that the transition from high school to college is a broken one for many students. There has been a nationwide call…