Presentation I The Virginia Graduation and Completion Index

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Presentation IThe Virginia Graduation and
Completion Index
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National Graduation RateTrends

• Each year, almost ONE-THIRD of all public high
  school students1.2 millionfail to graduate with
  their class. Thats one student every 26
  seconds.
• ABOUT HALF of African Americans, Hispanics and
  Native Americans in public schools fail to
  graduate.
• There are nearly 2,000 HIGH SCHOOLS with less
  than 50 percent graduation rates concentrated in
  50 large cities and in 15 primarily southern and
  southwestern states.

The Silent Epidemic http//www.civicenterprises.
net/pdfs/thesilentepidemic3-06.pdf
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• Students who drop-out of high school in Virginia
  each year have similar characteristics.
• Being absent more than 20 of the time
• Failing or low grades in English and mathematics
• Low Standards of Learning test scores in language
  arts/reading or mathematics
• Multiple behavior referrals and suspensions
• Changing schools during the school year
• Repeating the current grade
• Two or more years over age for grade

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Virginia Graduation Rate

• Dropouts from the class of 2008 will cost
  Virginia almost 7.6 billion in lost wages over
  their lifetime.
• About 6.5 billion would be added to Virginias
  economy by 2020 if students of color graduated at
  the same rate as white students.
• The average high school dropout in Virginia
  produces a lifetime net fiscal surplus of
  17,690 more in taxes than he/she would impose in
  transfer costs and institutionalization costs.
• For Virginia high school graduates, the surplus
  is 368,870, a loss of 351,180 for each
  dropout.
• Visions to Practice Conference, July, 2009,
  Mary McNaught, Chief of Staff, Civic Enterprises
• Council on Virginias Future, The High Cost
  of Low Educational Attainment August, 2008

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Virginia High School Cohort Rate
Using longitudinal information from the Education
Information Management System (EIMS), the
Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) was able
to produce a cohort report for the Class of 2008.
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Standards of Accreditation

• In February, 2009, the Board of Education
  strengthened Virginias accountability program
  by
• Requiring high schoolsbeginning with the
  2011-2012 school yearto meet an annual benchmark
  for graduation.
• Revising Virginias accreditation standards to
  create a graduation and completion index for high
  schools.

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Graduation and CompletionIndex

• Beginning with accreditation ratings announced in
  fall 2011, high schools must earn a minimum of 85
  points on the graduation and completion indexas
  well as achieve the required pass rates on state
  tests in English, history/social science,
  mathematics and scienceto be Fully Accredited.

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Graduation and Completion Index (cont.)

• High schools that do not attain the minimum
  graduation benchmark, but meet all other
  requirements, can be Provisionally Accredited
  until fall 2015 by achieving interim graduation
  benchmarks.
• High schools that achieve the required pass rates
  on state assessments, but do not meet the
  provisional benchmarks for graduation and
  completion, will be rated as Accredited with
  Warning.

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Graduation and Completion Index

• The Graduation and Completion Index awards
• 100 points for students who graduate with a(n)
• Advanced Studies Diploma
• Standard Diploma
• Modified Standard Diploma
• Special Diploma or General Achievement Diploma
• 75 points for students who earn a GED
• 70 points for students still in school
• 25 points for students who finish high school
  with a Certificate of Completion

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Graduation and Completion Index
Index Points
Accreditation Status
85 points Fully Accredited
80-84 points Provisionally Accredited
79 points and lower Accredited with Warning
In 2016-2017, all schools must have a Graduation
and Completion Index of 85 and meet the standards
in the four academic areas to be Fully
Accredited. Any high school with index point
totals less than 85 or below the standards in any
of the academic areas will be Accredited with
Warning.
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Happy Hills High School
Number of Points Awarded per Student Number of Students Total Number of Points
Graduated on Time 100 points 246 24,600
Earned GED 75 points 6 450
Still in School 70 points 15 1,050
Received Certificate of Completion 25 points 0 0
Dropped-out 0 points 6 0
273 26,100
Graduation and Completion Index 95.6 Graduation and Completion Index 95.6 Graduation and Completion Index 95.6 Graduation and Completion Index 95.6
Met the SOL Assessment Benchmarks in all content
areas Met Graduation and Completion
Index Accreditation Rating FULLY ACCREDITED
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Satchel Paige High School
Number of Points Awarded per Student Number of Students Total Number of Points
Graduated on Time 100 points 117 11,700
Earned GED 75 points 5 375
Still in School 70 points 5 350
Received Certificate of Completion 25 points 0 0
Dropped-out 0 points 27 0
154 12,425
Graduation and Completion Index 80.6 Graduation and Completion Index 80.6 Graduation and Completion Index 80.6 Graduation and Completion Index 80.6
Met the SOL Assessment Benchmarks in all content
areas Met the Provisional Benchmark for the
Graduation and Completion Index Accreditation
Rating Provisionally Accredited Graduation and
Completion Index
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Sugar County High School
Number of Points Awarded per Student Number of Students Total Number of Points
Graduated on Time 100 points 261 26,100
Earned GED 75 points 9 675
Still in School 70 points 61 4270
Received Certificate of Completion 25 points 0 0
Dropped-out 0 points 93 0
424 31,045
Graduation and Completion Index 73.2 Graduation and Completion Index 73.2 Graduation and Completion Index 73.2 Graduation and Completion Index 73.2
Met the SOL Assessment Benchmarks in all content
areas Did not meet the Provisional Benchmark for
the Graduation and Completion Index Accreditation
Rating Accredited with Warning Graduation and
Completion Index
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Virginia Early Warning System (VEWS) Tool

• Virginia has developed a research-based Early
  Warning System Tool (VEWS) in collaboration with
  the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center at
  Edvantia and the National High School Center
  which was piloted in four school divisions
• Indicators addressing attendance, behavior, and
  academic performance identify students at risk of
  dropping out of high school

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Virginia Early Warning System (VEWS) Tool

• Available data housed at the school that are good
  predictors of whether a student is likely to drop
  out of school
• Divisions and schools can use this information
  to
• Track the risk factors associated with dropout
  behaviors for individual students
• Implement tiered interventions that support
  off-track students while they are still in school
  before they drop out
• Look for patterns and identify school climate
  issues that may contribute to disproportionate
  dropout rates at a subset of high schools or
  within subpopulations of students

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Early Warning Systems

• Early warning systems (EWS) rely on readily
  available data housed at the school to
• Predict which students are at-risk for dropping
  out of high school
• Target resources to support off-track students
  while they are still in school, before they drop
  out
• Examine patterns and identify school climate
  issues

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9th Grade is a Critical Year

• Ninth grade is a make or break year
• More students fail 9th grade than any other high
  school grade
• A disproportionate number of students who are
  held back in 9th grade subsequently drop out
• Monitoring students progress throughout 9th
  gradeand even during the first semesterprovides
  powerful indicators that can predict whether
  students will complete high school
• Engagement
• Course performance
• Chicagos On-Track Indicator (CCSR End-of-Year)

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Risk Indicators in the VEWS Tool
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Virginia Early Warning System (VEWS) Pilot Team

• A team of school divisions, education
  organizations, and VDOE consultants assisted the
  VDOE with the pilot of the VEWS Tool
• School divisions Franklin City, Lee County,
  Richmond City, and Pulaski County
• Organizations Appalachia Regional Comprehensive
  Center and the National High School Center
• Validation of the Virginia Pre-High School Index
• Development of an implementation guide based on
  the pilot divisions experience
• Refinement of the VEWS Tool based on pilot
  divisions feedback and VDOE suggestions

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VEWS Tool Features

• Based on this work over the past two years, the
  National High School Center in collaboration with
  ARCC and VDOE conceptualized the current VEWS
  Tool. This version allows users to
• Import data
• Accommodate local contextual factors for high
  schools (e.g., semesters vs. trimesters vs.
  quarters)
• Align with the Virginia pre-high school index
• Modify the benchmarks/thresholds based on
  analysis of longitudinal data (i.e., indicator
  validation)
• Integrate behavioral indicators (referrals and
  suspensions)

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VEWS Tool Features

• Features, continued
• House an inventory of dropout prevention
  interventions
• Assign students to intervention programs and
  monitor student response and progress in the
  interventions over the course of the school year
• Create pre-set school-level summary reports,
  detailed student-level reports, and individual
  student reports
• Create customized student-level reports

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7-Step VEWS Implementation Process
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Step One Establish Roles and Responsibilities

• VEWS teams need to include individuals who have
• Authority to make decisions
• Knowledge of diverse students
• Expertise to manage and analyze data
• VEWS team are required to
• Meet regularly
• Communicate EWS/dropout prevention issues to
  groups/individuals outside of the team
• Solicit feedback from stakeholders (leaders,
  staff, students, parents)
• Monitor students progress

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Step Two Use the VEWS Tool

• In order to be used as an effective tool to
  support VEWS team work
• Data must be regularly entered/imported
  throughout the school year
• At least one individual should be responsible for
  ensuring the VEWS tool is loaded with the latest
  data
• VEWS Team members must be trained to understand
  the use of the tool
• Reports must be used to make decisions about
  students
• Students must be assigned to interventions and
  progress monitored

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Step Three Review VEWS Data

• VEWS data are reviewed and monitored to identify
  students at risk for dropping out and to
  understand patterns in student engagement and
  academic performance
• Questions to ask about VEWS data
• Student-level patterns What do your data tell
  you about individual students who are at-risk?
• School-level patterns What do your data tell you
  about how the school is doing?
• Are students who were flagged from the beginning
  remaining off-track through the year?
• Are students who were flagged at one reporting
  period back on-track at the next?

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Step Four Interpret VEWS Data

• The VEWS team must look BEYOND the indicators and
  dig deeper into reasons for student disengagement
  with school and academic failure
• Indicators are just observable symptoms, not root
  causes
• It is important to examine additional data from a
  variety of sources not included in the tool
  (e.g., talking to classroom teachers, parents,
  individual students, other adults in the school)
• Looking at data beyond those in the VEWS Tool can
  help identify individual and common needs among
  groups of students and raise new questions for
  understanding students reasons for being
  off-track for graduation

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Step Five Assign and Provide Interventions

• The VEWS team matches individual students to
  specific interventions after having gathered
  information about
• Potential root causes for individual flagged
  students
• The available dropout prevention and academic and
  behavioral support programs in the school,
  district, and community
• A tiered approach can be used to match students
  to interventions based on their individual needs

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Step Five Assign and Provide Interventions
(continued)

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Step Six Monitor Students and Interventions

• The VEWS team monitors students who are
  participating in interventions to
• Make necessary midcourse corrections by
  identifying students whose needs are not being
  met
• Identify new interventions that will meet
  students needs
• Use data to monitor the effectiveness of
  interventions offered
• Increase knowledge about the general
  effectiveness of interventions
• Improve the matching of students to interventions
• Communicate with families and appropriate
  stakeholders and solicit their involvement in the
  monitoring process

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Step Seven Evaluate and Refine the VEWS Process

• Refine the VEWS Implementation Process
• During the school year
• At the end of a school year
• Identify short- and long-term needs and solutions
• Student needs
• Organizational needs (school and/or division)

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http//www.doe.virginia.gov/support/school_improve
ment/early_warning_system/index.shtml

• VEWS Demonstration

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The Virginia Early Warning System (VEWS) Tool is
available on the Office of School Improvements
Web site.
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Contact Information
Dr. Yvonne A. Holloman Division Level Support
Coordinator Office of School Improvement 804-225-2
064 Yvonne.holloman_at_doe.virginia.gov Dr. Susan
FitzPatrick Grants and Reports Manager Office of
School Improvement 804-225-2897 Susan.fitzpatrick_at_
doe.virginia.gov