Reference Publication:
Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking

Contact: 
William J. Mathis, (802) 383-0058, wmathis@sover.net
URL for this press release: http://tinyurl.com/b92ql4a

BOULDER, CO (January 17, 2013) –The fifth in a series of briefs summarizing education policy research advises policymakers on how to decrease dropout rates.

The brief is written by Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education.

Efforts in recent years have sought to measure dropout rates—and graduation rates—more precisely and consistently and thus compare rates among various schools and districts. Depending on the state, 70% to 85% of students graduate within the traditional four years. Adults lacking a high school diploma suffer from dramatically lower wages—on average only slightly more than half the average wages for high school graduates—and poorer life chances, with lower employment rates, poorer health histories and greater rates of incarceration.

No single factor, Mathis notes, explains or predicts dropping out; instead, the National Dropout Prevention Center has identified no fewer than 25 significant predictors, with the presence of three or more factors putting a student at risk. Low socioeconomic status, low parental educational level, family disruption, high-risk peer groups, low achievement, and poor attendance are just some of the risk factors.

Examining the research, Mathis notes that some dropout prevention strategies have found little support in research, including two that are common in many districts: elaborate data collection and analysis as well as behavior and social skills programs for older (rather than younger) students.

Other approaches and programs have shown success. These include academic support and enrichment for students at risk of dropping out; assigning adult advocates to at-risk students, while taking care to ensure those advocates have low caseloads and are well-matched to their individual students; the creation of personalized and supportive learning environments; and instruction that is rigorous and directly relevant to the student’s post-high-school options.

The brief stresses that the majority of dropout risk factors are centered outside the school, and it accordingly recommends strong coordination between schools, and social and health agencies. “Multiple risk factors must be addressed with multiple strategies,” Mathis writes.

He also recommends implementing high-quality early education programs, which have been shown to reduce dropout rates; training educators to spot and report a wide range of dropout warning signs; and passing laws requiring students to attend school until age 18 or graduation.

Just as importantly, Mathis urges the revocation and avoidance of policies that encourage dropping out, such as grade retention, high school exit examinations, and out-of-school suspensions for minor offences. He also argues that “great care should be taken in the design of any school accountability system that incorporates dropout rates.” To do otherwise would hold schools “responsible for matters that are not within their control and for which the policymakers themselves do not provide adequate resources to resolve.”

The three-page brief is part of Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking, a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research. Each section focuses on a different issue, and its recommendations to policymakers are based on the latest scholarship.

The brief is made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

Find William Mathis’s brief on the NEPC website at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/options

The mission of the National Education Policy Center is to produce and disseminate high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence.  For more information on the NEPC, please visit http://nepc.colorado.edu/.

This brief is also found on the GLC website at http://www.greatlakescenter.org/