Dropout Recovery vs. Credit Recovery

 

By Rebekah Richards

As the State of Michigan contends with one of the hardest economic periods in recent memory, high schools throughout the state are finding themselves in the midst of a severe funding crisis. During times like these, it is easy to understand why the current problems plaguing schools have overshadowed some of the fundamental problems that have always been a cause for concern – such as finding a way to meet the needs of at-risk and dropout students.

• The Crisis
• The Alternatives
• Best Practices
• Finding Solutions
• A Michigan story (pdf)

The Crisis at Hand

These issues often form the core of our challenges not only for educators, but for a community. A failure to provide students with the support they need to graduate high school has negative implications that extend far beyond the classroom and the school district. Often, it can lead to the degradation of our society as a whole. Those who seek to quantify the ramifications of leaving school without a diploma have found that the average dropout costs the state and their communities $10,000/year for the lifetime of the student in lost taxes and costs for welfare and other social services.

Rather than pushing these issues aside, it is critical that educators instead take a step back and explore alternative options that are specifically designed to addresses student needs on an individual level and give them the support they need not only to graduate high school, but to become contributing members of our communities.

What alternative options are available?

Dropout Recovery
A dropout recovery program is a full-time learning program that supplements existing district programs. In some cases, these programs provide at-risk and dropout students with an opportunity to earn their diploma online.
Regardless of the delivery, research indicates that the following are requisite elements of effective dropout recovery programs:

• Flexibility (includes time and location requirements as well as course scheduling and access to academic supports)
• Case management and mentoring
• Support for special populations (e.g., teen parents, homeless youth, etc.)

Most dropout students leave school early because life circumstances force their education to become a lower priority in their lives. Dropout recovery programs must help meet students' needs on a personal level in order to meet their needs academically.

Dropout Prevention/Credit Recovery
Dropout prevention or credit recovery programs can be administered online or face-to-face, depending on the resources available to the high school.The defining characteristic of dropout prevention programs is that the students, though they are exhibiting one or more at-risk characteristics, are still attending school.

As schools develop customized dropout prevention and credit recovery programs, it is essential that they are proactive in identifying at-risk students so that interventions can be made as quickly as possible. Based on each student’s performance and personal obstacles, high schools can allocate any available resources, ranging from reduced schedules to online coursework, to implement an effective program that helps keep enrolled students on track to graduate and earn their high school diploma.

General Education Diploma (GED)
Pursuing a GED is often perceived as the only option for those who have dropped out high school. However, longitudinal studies show that the professional and educational outlook for a diploma-holder is significantly brighter than that of GED earners: after earning a high school diploma, students go on to and stay in college longer and they can look forward to many more career opportunities, including on-the-job managerial training and promotions.

Best Practices for Online Dropout Prevention and Recovery

Support and Flexibility
As online instruction becomes an increasingly popular method used to address the individual needs of at-risk and dropout students, it is important to understand that student success correlates to the amount of flexibility and support students have. 

The flexibility of an online learning environment affords students the freedom to make school fit around their lives, allowing them to overcome external factors that limit their ability to focus on education. But tantamount to an elevated degree of flexibility is the need for at-risk and dropout students to have an extensive and readily accessible support structure.

Having mentors who are able to address both a student’s academic and personal needs is crucial. Access to licensed teachers and professional tutors during off hours is critical for students who work at 2:00 a.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. Coaching students to take a long-term view and to keep going even when life gets tough and then helping them take each step of the journey helps keep kids engaged.

Accountability and Transparency
It is also important to find balance between flexibility and accountability. An integral part of any dropout prevention or recovery program is to instill a sense of empowerment and accountability in students. Most teens are in the process of learning self-management and independent learning skills. In the 21st century, these skills are arguably as important as the mastery of content standards.

Our job as educators must include assisting students in setting reasonable short and long term goals and then helping them take the steps necessary to reach those goals. Here are some ways we can empower students to take control and be accountable for their own progress:

• Set clear expectations for progress.
• Use manageable chunks of time and content for regular measurement (e.g., quarter credits instead of half credits, 4 weeks instead of 9 weeks).
• Provide syllabi and individualized pace charts. Syllabi should show all assignments, give a suggested due date for each assignment in the course, and should take into account start dates and goal end dates.
• Give students real-time information about their performance. This includes showing students their progress toward short and long term goals as well as providing detailed feedback about performance on each assignment.
• Reward success. Whether it's points that can be redeemed in the school store or a certificate that gives students tangible evidence that their effort has paid off, teens need the affirmation that we recognize and applaud their efforts.

Finding the Solution

With roughly one-third of students leaving high school before they graduate, dropout recovery needs to become a top priority for public school districts. Although budgetary conflicts can make it difficult for schools to fund programs that will help at-risk and dropout students get back on track for graduation, there are effective programs that can help your school district provide students with the support they need to succeed without a negative impact on your district's bottom line.

Fixing our nation’s deep-rooted school budget crisis will require systemic reforms driven by educators and policymakers. It is a problem that will take time to resolve. But accommodating the needs of our nation’s at-risk and dropout students is something that any institution can do now, using established funding sources. By working together and employing alternatives, we can provide students with well-lit bridges and pathways back to school and into the future.

Rebekah Richards is co-founder and chief academic officer of The American Academy (TTA), an online education provider and MASA Gold sponsor. Rebekah Richards also serves as the academy Principal and has worked in online high school education since 1999. She has been involved in the planning and implementation of numerous public and private online high schools throughout the country. Rebekah is also a frequent speaker on K-12 online learning and has been featured at national and international education conferences.

 

EXTRA:  Read a case study about Bloomingdale High School’s online Dropout Recovery program.