NCJ Number
150907
Date Published
1992
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings from the third year of a 4-year study of the impact of educational reform on at-risk students in Texas.
Abstract
For the purposes of this study, the terms "at-risk" and "regular" were selected, although alternative terminology is available in the literature ("underserved," "slow learners," etc.). The study includes three components. The first component is a longitudinal study of identified at- risk high school students who participated in extracurricular activities. Data were, and continue to be, collected regarding the impact of four reform policies on this sample of students (the attendance policy, the no pass/no play rule, the TEAMS/TAAS examination, and the driver's license law). The second component of the evaluation consists of a case study. Interviews are held each year with campus principals, at-risk coordinators, counselors, teachers, and students in participating schools. Structured school questionnaires are used to obtain data about each school and the effects of these four policies on both identified at-risk and regular students. The third component consisted of the distribution of a statewide survey to all high school principals in the fall of 1990. Data were collected regarding opinions about the perceived impact of the four selected reform policies on both identified at-risk and regular students. Information on the change in the allocation resources since the implementation of the education reforms, including implementation and maintenance programs and services for at-risk students and the distribution of responsibility for at-risk youth, was also obtained. There is no evidence from any of the components of this study that the four policies discussed in this report have increased student performance and increased the graduation rate.