The Positive Benefit of Dropout Accountability

I was recently talking to a group of high school educators who were bemoaning the fact that in their state they would now be accountable for reducing the dropout rate.  The crux of their complaint is that they should not be held accountable for a student/parent decision that they essentially have no control over. For those of you working in states where dropout accountability is already a reality, you are likely to be thinking, “Been there, done that.”

Many of us in education have been accountable for reducing the dropout rate for a number of years and the dropout numbers are dropping.  Which means that, "yes," we do have some control over the dropout decision.  The main way being that we tear down the hurdles and roadblocks that we have built over the years to sort the easy to teach into academic pathways and the difficult to teach out the door. 

I know that sounds harsh but it is a truism.  In my own experience the switch to dropout accountability occurred right after I became a Principal.  This forced me to re-think and re-design how my school and I intervened with difficult students. You see, even though I considered myself an enlightened educator, as an Assistant Principal I was lauded and rewarded for my ability to convince “trouble makers” to just leave. To go and “enroll” at a campus where they wouldn’t be watched and hassled for not engaging in the academic program.  Did I make the decision for the student to withdraw? No. Did those students enroll in other schools? No.  Am I responsible for those dropouts? Absolutely. 

Dropout accountability forced me to change my professional behavior many years quicker than my conscious would have.  And for that I am grateful and more importantly hundreds of students now have a better adult life due to completing their high school education.

So my advice to those educators facing this new reality. Embrace the challenge.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: LYS / TASSP Advanced Leadership Academy (Keynote); The 2016 Texas Charter School Conference (Multiple Presentations); The 4^th Annual Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Shares... Quick Accountability Testing

A LYS district leader shares the following:

A common sense testing plan (feel free to adopt):

Any student who scores high enough on the ACT/SAT or TSI (Texas Success Initiative assessment) to gain entry to ANY accredited (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) institution of post-secondary education is deemed college ready.  No new test needed.  No new standard needed.

Any student who earns an ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) score that will allow them entry into at least one branch of the US Military or the Coast Guard is deemed career ready.  No new test needed.  No new standard needed.

It really doesn't have to be hard.  Nor expensive. 

SC Response

I’m all for multiple pathways and supplanting assessments.  And for high school I have no problem with success on a particular assessment negating the need to take additional assessments.  And I agree that the if a high school student scores at a certain level on the ACT, SAT, TSI, or ASVAB, and has earned enough credits to graduate then, at the very least, a minimal acceptable standard of education has been met.

However, your answer isn’t THE answer.  If your answer was THE answer, that would require aligned curriculum to the new assessments.  Thereby providing a greater number of students a greater chance of being taught the material that must be mastered to earn their diploma.

And the exit level tests do not address EOC requirements for prerequisite courses and lower grades. But let’s take the elementary and junior high testing off the table for this discussion and just look at high school.

First, we need to decide what are the minimum levels of core courses that must be passed that meet the minimum standards of a productive member of society. I think you could get away with 5 EOC tests: (Junior Level ELA and Writing; Algebra 1 and Geometry; Biology; U.S. Government). We have state standards for those courses; build the EOC to measure the mastery of those standards.  Mechanically, this is not a difficult proposition.

Then to graduate, a student must:

Earn the requisite number of credits in the requisite courses and do just one of the following:

A. Pass 4 of the 5 EOC tests

B. Score a 31 on the ASVAB

C. Score a 21 on the ACT

D. Score a 1500 on the SAT

E. Score a 370 on the TSI

If a student hits a cut score any of the non-EOC tests, for graduation purposes, EOC scores are moot.

And like your suggestion, this isn’t hard. It would be cost less to administer than our current system and be more beneficial to our graduating seniors.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: TMSA Winter Conference; ASCD Annual Conference; TASSP Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); TEPSA Summer Conference (Multiple Presentations); NAESP National Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Student With a Baby

I recently had the following correspondence with the Superintendent of a small, rural district.

SC,

Considering my district and the community we serve, what would you do for the student who is a junior and now has a baby with no day care options, no family support and no job for a baby sitter?

SC Response

I could make a snarky comment about the lack of a safety net for unprepared mothers and their children, but that is another post.  As is the case for almost every social issue, as school leaders we leave the rhetoric to those who would rather talk about social problems, instead of actually dealing with them.

I know creating a day care at your high school is not feasible, so let’s go straight to Plan B.

1. Get the student access to some on-line course work, immediately.  A+ or Khan Academy courses would be the first place I would look, though they are not the only options.  At this time, this student doesn't need great instruction, this student now needs exposure to content.  If the student doesn’t have a computer and/or connectivity at home, take care of both issues.  Then as the student progresses thru the lessons at home have her come to the school at regular interval to take the content tests that will allow her to earn the credit in the course(s).

2. Get the student back on campus and in class as soon as baby-sitting is available. If quarter or half day attendance is the only option, then exercise it.

3. From an education standpoint, there are now only 3 priorities for this student: 

A – Earn a required credit. 

B – Earn a HS diploma.  

C - Start earning some college credits towards a certificate or a degree as soon as possible.

In our state, it only takes 22 credits to graduate from high school, if they are the right credits.  As a junior, the student most likely has 16 credits earned and 4 credits currently in progress.  Which means that there is no reason why this student couldn’t graduate by July 2015 and be enrolled in a course at the local Junior College in the Fall of 2015.

Going forward, your job is to increase the opportunity set of your student and her child.  Each additional credit earned does that, a High School diploma does that, and enrolling in a college course does that.

As you know, the decisions you make in this matter will change lives.  Change them for the better.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: ASCD Annual Conference; TEPSA Summer Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Writes... Commencement Address - Part 1

In response to the 6/10/14 post, “Commencement Address – Four Practices,” a LYS Principal writes:

SC,

Tell me you didn’t Fundamental 5 a Commencement Address!?!?  I can’t wait to share this with my teachers when they come back in August.  Unbelievable!

Did any of the teachers and administrators in attendance “get it”?

SC Response

Believe it.

I don’t know if the teachers figured out what I was doing (after all, they were understandably a little distracted).  But the principal knew and was smiling the entire time.

If what you are teaching is important and you need your students to remember it, then you have to use the Fundamental 5. And what lesson is more important than the commencement? It’s only the last lesson of high school. Then it’s on to four years of the worst delivered instruction of the entire school experience.

What I found to be humorous is just like any lesson, delivered by any teacher, I want a chance to do it again. Next time my delivery will be a little smoother and my Lesson Frame will be better focused.  

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NAESP National Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook 

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of May 26, 2013

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now Twitter users.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of May 26, 2013.

1. Students who take at least 2 AP courses in high school are more likely to complete a 4-year degree than their peers who do not. (By @DrJerryRBurkett)

2. Don't change your lessons to fit technology, find the technology to fit your lesson. (By @redwriter2783)

3. Individual teachers can adopt 21st century practices, but real impact comes when an entire school embraces the same vision. (By @sjunkins)

4. I always say, "It's all about personnel..." A great teacher can make use of any "tool" and will be effective! (By @HalLRoberts)

5. For those celebrating a reduction in EOC's. Nothing will change in grades 3 - 8 and we never got to the upper level HS tests. Performance issues will remain. (By @LYSNation)

6. If you are being recruited your social media account will be watched. They don't know you, so what you post is who they think you are. (By @ONeilCHSprincip)

7. Be a rebel and dare to use a CSCOPE lesson next year! (By @tra_hall)

8. Don’t treat unconnected teachers like they are doing something wrong. Reflection doesn’t have to be done online to be effective. (By @sjunkins)

9. Teachers had a purging and packing party! Teacher says, "Thanks for forcing me to clean out!  It's amazing how much I didn't need!" (By @hjgrubbs)

10. All my High School athletes wish they were done with HS and all of my Alumni wish they had 3 more years in HS. I wish they all enjoyed today. (By @hansonrun)

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Shares... Accountability Crisis of Conscious

One of the original LYS readers submits the following:

"Well, I have heard of situations like this, but until now had never been introduced to one (even in a dysfunctional system and I have seen a couple of those). I am really torn.

What is the situation? I sat in a meeting today where the discussion was on how best to address our accountability situation (AU) with our TAKS-M students in mind. I understand the pressure to do what is needed to make sure we get as many students as possible on the pass list (AA was just a few students away.) But, how do you resolve an accountability crisis of conscience when the PBMAS shows that in the area of SPED you are stage 2 and have a 3 in several areas, including too many TAKS-M students and too few TAKS/TAKS-Acc students?

With the change in the law as to who is qualified to take TAKS-M to include both modifications and accommodations and TAKS-M is an indicator of a student who is more than one year from grade level mastery, should TAKS-M students remain in that category even if they have a greater than needed mastery level?

Should a student who has the credits and ability to take TAKS-Acc (and earn a recommended diploma) be relegated to TAKS-M and the minimal plan? What does it really mean to see the "big" picture in this case? Where is the defining line?"

SC Response:
CL, call me if this doesn’t help. There are two dimensions to your dilemma, the macro-answer and the micro-answer. I’m going to respond to both. But I defer to the LYS Nation on the specifics, regarding coding requirements. First, the micro-response

There are two major considerations to your dilemma at the micro level. The first is student centered. The primary goal at the High School level must be graduation, especially for schools that are in crisis. Course work and testing decisions must be made to put the student in the best possible position to earn the most rigorous diploma that is realistically feasible. If I’m going to gamble with a student’s future, I’m looking for the low risk, high reward option. But I’m not going to sell a student short just to hedge my personal bet.

The second micro consideration is accountability related. In the short run, you have to play the game in order to stay in the game long enough to fix the system. That means that if you have to choose between fixing state accountability or federal accountability, fix the one that is most critical (i.e. the one that will shut you down the quickest). Buy some time and live to fight tomorrow.

At the macro-level, fix the system at full speed. When a campus goes AU (or has a significant ratings drop), that is the final symptom of system failure. Everything is on the table at this point. The key is to quit focusing on the symptom (student performance) and attack the problem (the instructional delivery machine). And fixing the machine is a leadership responsibility.

That is my quick take on an all too common problem. However, you and I need to hear more from the LYS Nation. Specifically, E. Don, John, Mike, Lynn and Pam, what would you add?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

High School Graduation Fact

Tomorrow on the plane I'm going to read:

The Costs and Benefits of an Excellent Education for All of America's Children. It is a monograph by Levin, Belfield, Muenning, and Rouse (2007).

If I enjoy it, I'll post some comments. But here is what grabbed my attention. The teaser states, "Each high school graduate in the United States means a net economic benefit to society of $122,000."

For information like that, I'll read a 26 page report.

Here's the link:

http://www.cbcse.org/media/download_gallery/Leeds_Report_Final_Jan2007.pdf?lk=6898814-6898814-0-35417-EANlNwA4D9VYbweEqf13usVhme5XzMxm

Your turn...