DALLAS ISD

Posted by Archer Newberry @ 5:03 PM Fri, Jan 18, 2008

I teach 9th grade in a suburban Dallas district, and I see the failure rate first hand. It amazes me how much the 1st 6 weeks of a student's freshman year is a make or break time. I believe middle schools play a huge role in the success or failure of 9th graders because they can set up the students for higher expectations at the high school level. I am baffled that some of my students have made it as far as 9th grade.

Posted by Diane Birdwell @ 6:22 PM Fri, Jan 18, 2008

Part of the reason why so many kids drop out of high school is the same reason why they dropped out of high school 30 years ago: they see no relevance to the "college talk" because they just want to go get a job.

The danger of talking "college, college, college" is to driving away many students. Hundreds are here illegally. They see no reason to graduate if they may not even be here next year. Others see the need to work NOW for their family. I have seen parents pressure their 16 year old sons to drop out to help with the family business.

Until the parents place a high value on the diploma, the kid won't. Preaching about college means nothing to a kid who doesn't see past next month.

Posted by Cheeto @ 6:27 PM Fri, Jan 18, 2008

Ninth grade is not an early warning sign. It's a too late sign. District data shows that 72% of the kids coming into 9th grade at my school are functioning at the 5th/6th grade reading and math level. By 9th grade it's too late to fix.

Posted by Bill Betzen @ 6:46 PM Fri, Jan 18, 2008

I have been a 7th grade computer application teacher for 7 years. I am fortunate to teach a subject that is relatively popular with students. Sadly when I have motivation problems with students you know there are problems in other classes. What is the most common problem? Our students have no goals. They are often in a strange land with parents who do not have a familiarity with our culture. Who can help them understand why a high school diploma is important and why they must work in middle school? We must set up our middle schools to begin to address the critical issue of goals.

Three years ago we did that at Quintanilla Middle School. We bolted a 350-pound vault to the floor in our lobby to function as a 10-year time-capsule. It holds letters students write to themselves just before leaving for high school. They write about their life history and goals for the future. We tell them that changing goals in life is never a problem. Not having goals is!

Students know that their letter will stay in the School Archive until their 10-year class reunion. They also know they will be invited at the reunion to speak with the then current 8th grade classes giving their recommendations for success. We recommend that they plan for questions like "Would you do anything differently if you were 13 again?" Thinking of giving answers to such a question helps our students realize how critical their studies are now.

We must help our students connect with their own futures in as realistic a manner as is possible. Google the words "dropout" and "cure" to see the details about the Middle School Archive Project which is the first hit.

Posted by park @ 6:51 PM Fri, Jan 18, 2008

It's also common practice for veteran teachers to quit teaching ninth graders as soon as they have enough seniority to teach only upper level classes. This often leaves the freshmen with new, inexperienced teachers.
Master teachers should be required to teach freshmen. It is the year many ninth graders will decide to drop out, and they need all the help they can get in adjusting to high school. None of them should be push-outs or throw-aways.

Posted by Jason @ 10:49 AM Sat, Jan 19, 2008

What you're seeing is the end result of years of these kids falling behind, starting in elementary school. Better test: check out which kids can't read with comprehension in third grade, and see how many of *them* graduate later. After third grade, most of the important material must be learned from books, not just from listening and doing. If they can't read, they effectively can't learn.

Posted by MizBennett @ 1:33 PM Sun, Jan 20, 2008

It is difficult for a child to be successful on a 9th grade level if he or she is on a 3rd grade reading level. I'd like to see the numbers on this. I have found this to be prevalent with the 9th graders I teach that are not successful.

It's hard to be enthused for learning if most everything is so far over your head that you struggle for the simplest concept. Not all of these children have modifications.

I have these questions:

1) How does a child with such a low level of ability get into high school?

2) How can a teacher differentiate the curriculum sufficiently without harming the general level of accomplishment in the class?

3) How accessible is the information to all teachers of a student hindered by such low performance? Is it necessary for a teacher to research the testing backgrounds of 165 students to determine who doesn't really know how to read? In my class, such information is not easily accessible. I have to find a counselor who is not busy who is willing to pull the information for me. Once I have this information, there are few resources to help me deal with it. I've even been told to "make something up."

4) Shouldn't these students be identified as "at risk" and ALL of their teachers informed. Often we are working in overcrowded classes and "crowd control" is as much of an issue as instruction. That does not leave time to take particular care of students who are INCAPABLE of processing the course content. These students are often the ones creating the need for "crowd control."

The first six weeks of high school is not the issue. The students should be aware of standards to be successful. If they lack the capability to be successful, then their needs should be addressed in a different manner. It's wrong to blame the high school teachers for failing to graduate them if the students shouldn't have ever left middle school.

Posted by Aimee Bolender @ 8:33 PM Sun, Jan 20, 2008

I have seen the School Archive project at Quintanilla Middle School. Hats off to Bill for his passion. This is the type of project that can interest students and hook them into staying.

Posted by Kent Fischer @ 12:31 PM Tue, Jan 22, 2008

Here's what we've learned so far:

1. Freshman failures are due, perhaps in large part, to social promotions the kids earned along the way. When they hit high schools, their poor skills result in failure because they can't be socially promoted anymore due to high school credit requirements.

2. Ninth grade is too late. These kids need to be flagged in elementary school.

3. Maybe not every kids need to be told college is the path for him.

Posted by park @ 11:00 AM Wed, Jan 23, 2008

WRONG! If you wonder why you are getting so many kids in the 9th grade who can't read, why don't you demand DISD open up their files on the teachers with the lowest CEIs and figure out how many kids passed through these teachers in the first, second, and third grades? Why don't teachers EVER hold their own "profession" accountable for a 50% dropout rate? And you can make up for these low skills in the 9th graders if you are skilled.

Posted by MizBennett @ 4:56 PM Thu, Jan 24, 2008

I'd be interested in the CEI info for elementary grades. I'm not convinced that it means diddly. I do know that teachers are often pressured to keep failure rates below a certain percentage, which can effectively require a teacher to lower the bar.

I know teachers that have been criticized for failure rates that are too high. The largest issue I have with my own students is not an inability to do the work, but rather a lack of willingness. I have students who say, "come on miss, give me a break I'm (some minority)" or "that's too hard" when they have failed to make ANY effort. Many of the children are so terribly passive and have horrible habits ingrained. We work on them. It's a challenge.

A few years back it was suggested that we break up our instruction into eight minute segments followed by a "commercial break" because the students were programmed by television to pay attention in small spurts. I find this distasteful. Students should be programmed to come into class and receive instruction.

I agree that there are teachers that aren't doing their job, however there are really good teachers that are hampered by their administrations.

Posted by daisy @ 5:03 PM Thu, Jan 24, 2008

1. Social promotions aren't "earned", they're given by teachers (through grades) and principals (through exceptions to TAKS passing criteria for promotion, etc.). That said, the research all shows that there's no achievement benefit to a student who's retained as opposed to one who's socially promoted.
2. Flagged? Every elementary teacher with a class of 22 or 25 students knows exactly how those kids did on last year's tests, and SHOULD know how they're performing in class on a daily basis. Most problems develop in middle school, but that's why middle schools have "pods", so that any student who has Ms A for math also has Mr B for language arts and Ms C for science, and they can compare notes and also have group conferences with parents if things get serious. If those things aren't happening, it's a problem at the school or classroom level.
It's not just the low-achieving ninth graders who get into trouble. It can be the kids who were smart in middle school and think they're smart enough to skip without getting caught or failing their classes. Lots of things change in high school, and we need all the warnings we can get when any student starts to slip.