This past week we had one 540-pound vault bolted to the floor in the lobby of both Edison Middle School and Pinkston High School in Dallas. This now means that starting this year almost 100% of the students at both Pinkston and Sunset high schools will have the possibility of going thorough the Archive Project letter writing process four times, once upon entering middle school and again on leaving, and once again on entering high school and again on leaving. It was a very good week! Here are the instructions shared with Edison staff on Thursday which, with a few changes, are the same 8 steps shared with Pinkston staff:
1. All students and parents write a letter the first month of school. The first meetings with parents will involve a description of the School Archive Project and the need for them to write a letter to their child about their dreams for their child. They should write stories from their family history providing the roots from which they are sending their child into the world, as well as their dreams and hopes for their child. They should write about how they are willing to help their child achieve these goals. This letter may someday be a priceless possession for their child, and even their grand children, and great grand children. It will be a document for the family history just as the letters their children will write may also become valuable family history documents. Such letters will help students focus on their critical long term goals.
2. Both these letters, the parent's letter and the student's letter, are then placed together into one envelope. Each student seals their envelope and places their name and home address on it. These envelopes are placed into the School Archive, 540-pound vault, bolted to the floor in the school lobby in a location passed by all students many times each day.
3. These envelopes stay in the vault during the middle school years, until the last month of 8th grade, just before students leave for high school. Hopefully what these letters represent is a common topic of conversation during the middle school years. Teachers may use the existence of this letter, and the plans for future letters and the eventual Class Reunion, in times where future focus and motivation may be needed to help a student focus on work.
4. The letters are pulled from the vault the last month of 8th grade, returned to the students, to be used to write a second set of letters by both parents and students. Their dreams and life goals are updated to focus 10-years into the future. Both new letters are then placed into another self-addressed envelope.
5. This time the students themselves place their envelopes onto the shelf for their class inside the School Archive Vault. This happens on “Archiving Day,” a day at the end of 8th grade when 8th grade students pose with the class in which they wrote their letters for a photo. They stand together, in front of the School Archive Vault, holding their letter. After the photo they place the letter into the vault themselves. They know they will receive their letters back as they return for their 10-year 8th grade class reunion.
6. They each receive two copies of the photo taken that day, one for them and one for their parents. On the back of the photo are the details of the Archive Project including the estimated dates and details for their 10-year 8th grade class reunion.
7. It is recommended that the 10-year reunions happen the week of Thanksgiving. Then the current students will have 6 months to digest what they hear before they write their own final 10-year letters focusing 10 years into their own future. A school tradition has been established.
8. The details on the back of the photo include the fact that, at the Class 10-year Reunion, they will also be invited to speak with the then current 8th grade classes. They will be asked to talk about their recommendations for success. They should be prepared for questions from those decade younger students such as:
"What would you do differently if you were 13 again?"
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
New AYP 2010 report again shows south side comprehensive high schools better than north side.
The new, 8-4-2010, Texas Education Agency AYP (Acceptable Yearly Progress) Report, at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/ayp/2010/distcampfinal10.pdf, is additional powerful documentation of the superiority of the 15 non-magnet high schools on the south side of Dallas over the 7 similar DISD high schools on the north side. (See Page 48 in this report for DISD.)
While there are individual parts of the AYP report that must be strongly questioned, the overall pattern of the 15 non-magnet south side high schools doing much better than the 7 non-magnet high schools on the north side of Dallas is clear. The data below is taken from the above linked AYP report.
This AYP report shows that only 2 of 7 north side high schools made AYP, or 28.6%, while 5 out of 15 of the south side made AYP, or 33%. While this is not a big difference, when you count the reasons given for each school not meeting AYP, a very strong pattern emerges.
On the north side there were a total of 12 reasons for not meeting AYP spread among the 5 schools for an average of 2.4 reasons in each of these 5 schools. On the south side there were a total of 13 reasons given for the 10 schools not meeting AYP for an average of 1.3 reasons spread among these 10 school.
Then you look for more patterns and see that only 1 out of 5 north side schools did not make AYP for only one reason. On the south side there were 7 out of 10 schools that did not make AYP for only one reason.
Finally you notice that three north side schools, (43%), had three reasons for not making AYP! NONE of the south side south side high schools had three reasons for not making AYP!
Based on the above, along with previous evidence collected (http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2010/08/dallas-northsouth-gap-myth-suffers-with.html) can anyone deny that the non-magnet high schools on the south side of Dallas are doing better than those on the north side of Dallas?
How can Dallas media speak of a "North-South Gap" wherein the North is always superior? They can only do it by avoiding any reporting in print on the repeated academic patterns indicating a different gap, one with the south side on top!
All DISD schools and students must do better, must constantly improve. Transparency helps that to happen.
While there are individual parts of the AYP report that must be strongly questioned, the overall pattern of the 15 non-magnet south side high schools doing much better than the 7 non-magnet high schools on the north side of Dallas is clear. The data below is taken from the above linked AYP report.
This AYP report shows that only 2 of 7 north side high schools made AYP, or 28.6%, while 5 out of 15 of the south side made AYP, or 33%. While this is not a big difference, when you count the reasons given for each school not meeting AYP, a very strong pattern emerges.
On the north side there were a total of 12 reasons for not meeting AYP spread among the 5 schools for an average of 2.4 reasons in each of these 5 schools. On the south side there were a total of 13 reasons given for the 10 schools not meeting AYP for an average of 1.3 reasons spread among these 10 school.
Then you look for more patterns and see that only 1 out of 5 north side schools did not make AYP for only one reason. On the south side there were 7 out of 10 schools that did not make AYP for only one reason.
Finally you notice that three north side schools, (43%), had three reasons for not making AYP! NONE of the south side south side high schools had three reasons for not making AYP!
Based on the above, along with previous evidence collected (http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2010/08/dallas-northsouth-gap-myth-suffers-with.html) can anyone deny that the non-magnet high schools on the south side of Dallas are doing better than those on the north side of Dallas?
How can Dallas media speak of a "North-South Gap" wherein the North is always superior? They can only do it by avoiding any reporting in print on the repeated academic patterns indicating a different gap, one with the south side on top!
All DISD schools and students must do better, must constantly improve. Transparency helps that to happen.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Dallas North/South Gap Myth suffers with almost half of all DISD high schools in North Dallas rated as UNACCEPTABLE by TEA!
Some of the most prominent Dallas media continue to engage in "body language" promoting the "Dallas Myth" that DISD schools on the north side of Dallas always perform better than those on the south side of Dallas. They do this by refusing to adequately present the overwhelming evidence of significant indications that schools on the south side of Dallas are better than schools on the north side of Dallas. The southern half of Dallas will be defined by this map.
This week the new TEA ratings came out. They show that there is over a 100% greater probability for a DISD non-magnet high school on the north side of Dallas to be rated UNACCEPTABLE that for a DISD non-magnet high school on the south side of Dallas to have such a rating. In this north/south division we will use this map from the Dallas Morning News North-South Dallas Project pages. These ratings also show that only one of the 4 remaining (i.e. not rated UNACCEPTABLE) north side DISD high schools, Jefferson, received their rating by having "met absolute standards," without using TPM, or other related rating aids. Meanwhile, for the 15 non-magnet DISD high schools on the south side of town, 7 of them received their acceptable ratings by having "met absolute standards."
TEA ratings show 3 (43%) of the 7 non-magnet DISD high schools on the north side of Dallas (Conrad H.S. must be added) are rated as unacceptable: Bryan Adams, Hillcrest, and North Dallas High School. The same TEA ratings show that only 3 (20%) of the 15 non-magnet DISD high schools on the south side of Dallas are rated as unacceptable: Samuell, Carter and A. Maceo Smith.
It was documented that significantly higher percentages of south side 9th grade students were making it to the 12th grade from 2005 up to the present. In 2008/2009 Oak Cliff was even 11 percentage points over North Dallas in this measurement! Look closely at the graph on the last page linked above. Note that the 6 North Dallas high schools used in this rating (Conrad was too new to be included) ALMOST caught up with Oak Cliff in this promotion rate with the 2009/2010 school year. The Dallas Morning News has not mentioned this measurement of progress for the south side in print. It appears they do not want to acknowledge how far behind the North Dallas schools were for several years, and still are!
Now, with the new TEA ratings, a new and more solid indication is available. TEA shows a more significant measurement wherein 43% of the north side high schools are rated unacceptable while only 20% of the south side schools are so rated. Also, only 25% (one) of the remaining 4 north side high schools were able to make their rating by meeting absolute standards, i.e. without the TMP or related help. On the south side over 58% (7) of the remaining 12 south side high schools were able to make their rating by meeting absolute standards.
The time has long passed for these differences to be publicly shared in major Dallas print and television media. The failure for this to happen shows "body language" indicating the media want to do nothing that may damage the old Dallas myth that the south side is somehow "worse" than the north side.
It remains to be seen if the Dallas Morning News will acknowledge IN PRINT that the south side of Dallas has made tremendous progress in several educational areas while the north side appears to have fallen back.
The good news remains that, overall, the children of Dallas are ALL making progress. Dropout rates are down and graduation rates are up. The progress must continue!
We must allow this north/south gap debate to be a form of entertainment, painfully reflecting the ongoing history of Dallas where still not enough has changed. The REAL WORK must continue in the classrooms and dining rooms all over Dallas, work for the futures of ALL our students.
This week the new TEA ratings came out. They show that there is over a 100% greater probability for a DISD non-magnet high school on the north side of Dallas to be rated UNACCEPTABLE that for a DISD non-magnet high school on the south side of Dallas to have such a rating. In this north/south division we will use this map from the Dallas Morning News North-South Dallas Project pages. These ratings also show that only one of the 4 remaining (i.e. not rated UNACCEPTABLE) north side DISD high schools, Jefferson, received their rating by having "met absolute standards," without using TPM, or other related rating aids. Meanwhile, for the 15 non-magnet DISD high schools on the south side of town, 7 of them received their acceptable ratings by having "met absolute standards."
TEA ratings show 3 (43%) of the 7 non-magnet DISD high schools on the north side of Dallas (Conrad H.S. must be added) are rated as unacceptable: Bryan Adams, Hillcrest, and North Dallas High School. The same TEA ratings show that only 3 (20%) of the 15 non-magnet DISD high schools on the south side of Dallas are rated as unacceptable: Samuell, Carter and A. Maceo Smith.
It was documented that significantly higher percentages of south side 9th grade students were making it to the 12th grade from 2005 up to the present. In 2008/2009 Oak Cliff was even 11 percentage points over North Dallas in this measurement! Look closely at the graph on the last page linked above. Note that the 6 North Dallas high schools used in this rating (Conrad was too new to be included) ALMOST caught up with Oak Cliff in this promotion rate with the 2009/2010 school year. The Dallas Morning News has not mentioned this measurement of progress for the south side in print. It appears they do not want to acknowledge how far behind the North Dallas schools were for several years, and still are!
Now, with the new TEA ratings, a new and more solid indication is available. TEA shows a more significant measurement wherein 43% of the north side high schools are rated unacceptable while only 20% of the south side schools are so rated. Also, only 25% (one) of the remaining 4 north side high schools were able to make their rating by meeting absolute standards, i.e. without the TMP or related help. On the south side over 58% (7) of the remaining 12 south side high schools were able to make their rating by meeting absolute standards.
The time has long passed for these differences to be publicly shared in major Dallas print and television media. The failure for this to happen shows "body language" indicating the media want to do nothing that may damage the old Dallas myth that the south side is somehow "worse" than the north side.
It remains to be seen if the Dallas Morning News will acknowledge IN PRINT that the south side of Dallas has made tremendous progress in several educational areas while the north side appears to have fallen back.
The good news remains that, overall, the children of Dallas are ALL making progress. Dropout rates are down and graduation rates are up. The progress must continue!
We must allow this north/south gap debate to be a form of entertainment, painfully reflecting the ongoing history of Dallas where still not enough has changed. The REAL WORK must continue in the classrooms and dining rooms all over Dallas, work for the futures of ALL our students.
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Dropout Prevention Two-step - a summary of the School Archive Project
The first step is dropout rate transparency. Every school district should have a multi-year enrollment by grade spreadsheet online for each school, with graduation numbers for each year.
High dropout rates seen with such transparency will initially make people angry, but it gives a place to start. Progress can then be tracked from data that is already being collected, but is simply data not visible in this format online for US public schools. Dropout rate patterns and progress will now be more clearly exposed.
The second step is to understand that our students must want to stay in school for the right reasons, not because the classroom is an effective detention facility! Students must be focused on their own futures in as concrete and physical a way as is possible. They will better envision the value of education.
To achieve the future focus a Dallas middle school started the School Archive Project in 2005. It is a 10-year time capsule and class reunion project. It involves a 350-pound vault bolted to the floor in the school lobby to function as the 10-year time-capsule. The School Archive holds letters 8th grade students write to themselves about their history and plans for the future. Students can place several letters into their envelope for the vault. In addition to the letter to themselves, they can include letters from their parents, or a teacher, about their dreams for the student.
At the end of the year, before students go on to high school, there is a small ceremony wherein students pose in front of the School Archive, with their Language Arts Class, holding their sealed letters for a photo. They then place their letters inside the vault.
Students receive a copy of this photo with information on the back about their 10-year class reunion. They are reminded that they will be invited at that 10-year reunion to speak with then current 8th grade classes about their recommendations for success. They are warned to prepare for questions such as; “Would you do anything differently if you were 13 again?”
Thinking of answering such a question in 10 years helps students realize the value of current school work. They must build their own futures. Nobody is going to do it for them.
The first students to write letters for the School Archive graduated in 2009 as members of the largest 12th grade class in over a decade! The Class of 2010 then significantly improved the graduation rate of the Class of 2009!
This project has now spread to 6 schools within Dallas ISD. It is a simple project helping teachers do what teachers have always done, focus students onto their own futures.
At a cost that is about a dollar per child per year, this is a project all schools should have. It only requires one dedicated teacher as project manager who is also interested in motivating students to write more, to better understand the flow of time and history, and to graduate.
Bill Betzen
The School Archive Project
www.studentmotivation.org
It is requested that you share any improvements to the School Archive Project you may develop.
High dropout rates seen with such transparency will initially make people angry, but it gives a place to start. Progress can then be tracked from data that is already being collected, but is simply data not visible in this format online for US public schools. Dropout rate patterns and progress will now be more clearly exposed.
The second step is to understand that our students must want to stay in school for the right reasons, not because the classroom is an effective detention facility! Students must be focused on their own futures in as concrete and physical a way as is possible. They will better envision the value of education.
To achieve the future focus a Dallas middle school started the School Archive Project in 2005. It is a 10-year time capsule and class reunion project. It involves a 350-pound vault bolted to the floor in the school lobby to function as the 10-year time-capsule. The School Archive holds letters 8th grade students write to themselves about their history and plans for the future. Students can place several letters into their envelope for the vault. In addition to the letter to themselves, they can include letters from their parents, or a teacher, about their dreams for the student.
At the end of the year, before students go on to high school, there is a small ceremony wherein students pose in front of the School Archive, with their Language Arts Class, holding their sealed letters for a photo. They then place their letters inside the vault.
Students receive a copy of this photo with information on the back about their 10-year class reunion. They are reminded that they will be invited at that 10-year reunion to speak with then current 8th grade classes about their recommendations for success. They are warned to prepare for questions such as; “Would you do anything differently if you were 13 again?”
Thinking of answering such a question in 10 years helps students realize the value of current school work. They must build their own futures. Nobody is going to do it for them.
The first students to write letters for the School Archive graduated in 2009 as members of the largest 12th grade class in over a decade! The Class of 2010 then significantly improved the graduation rate of the Class of 2009!
This project has now spread to 6 schools within Dallas ISD. It is a simple project helping teachers do what teachers have always done, focus students onto their own futures.
At a cost that is about a dollar per child per year, this is a project all schools should have. It only requires one dedicated teacher as project manager who is also interested in motivating students to write more, to better understand the flow of time and history, and to graduate.
Bill Betzen
The School Archive Project
www.studentmotivation.org
It is requested that you share any improvements to the School Archive Project you may develop.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sunset High School in Dallas ISD is leader in dropout prevention progress in Texas!
The great news is that Sunset High School in Dallas gave 483 diplomas to their Class of 2010. That is 76 more graduates than were in the Class of 2009, and the largest graduation class ever! The "raw" graduation rate, based on total 9th grade enrollment four years earlier, went from 49.4% last year to 60.8% for the Class of 2010 based on the 483 number. It is wonderful progress!! (This 483 number was taken from the 483 names that were listed on the Sunset graduation program. It will probably not exactly match the number that will ultimately be the official number of graduates, but it will be close.)
Due to the decreasing number of 9th grade failures and the growing upper grade class enrollments, it is almost certain Sunset will achieve a 70% graduation within the next few years. It is now possible to see an 80% graduation rate is even being within sight!
The reason these achievements are so significant is that during the 8 year period, from the Class of 2000 to the Class of 2007, the average graduation rate (calculated as the percentage of the 9th grade enrollment four years earlier who received a diploma) was 34% for Sunset High School. The graduation rate for the Class of 2010 is now 60%! That is over 25 percentage points higher!
Does anyone know of another Texas public high school who has made this much progress?
The reasons for the progress are multiple. A dynamic principal and staff are the central reason. They are future focused. They have emphasized that focus on the future by starting their own School Archive Project in 2009, but their future focus was present long before that happened. As of 2009 all the feeder middle schools sending students into Sunset now also have School Archive Projects. Once Sunset achieves the 70% raw graduation rate they will have doubled what had been their average graduation rate for the eight years up to and including the Class of 2007. That is amazing!!! (See http://www.studentmotivation.org/DallasISD/#sunset for the enrollment by grade history for Sunset. It is not yet updated with the most recent 2010 numbers.)
Due to the decreasing number of 9th grade failures and the growing upper grade class enrollments, it is almost certain Sunset will achieve a 70% graduation within the next few years. It is now possible to see an 80% graduation rate is even being within sight!
The reason these achievements are so significant is that during the 8 year period, from the Class of 2000 to the Class of 2007, the average graduation rate (calculated as the percentage of the 9th grade enrollment four years earlier who received a diploma) was 34% for Sunset High School. The graduation rate for the Class of 2010 is now 60%! That is over 25 percentage points higher!
Does anyone know of another Texas public high school who has made this much progress?
The reasons for the progress are multiple. A dynamic principal and staff are the central reason. They are future focused. They have emphasized that focus on the future by starting their own School Archive Project in 2009, but their future focus was present long before that happened. As of 2009 all the feeder middle schools sending students into Sunset now also have School Archive Projects. Once Sunset achieves the 70% raw graduation rate they will have doubled what had been their average graduation rate for the eight years up to and including the Class of 2007. That is amazing!!! (See http://www.studentmotivation.org/DallasISD/#sunset for the enrollment by grade history for Sunset. It is not yet updated with the most recent 2010 numbers.)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Article by Mercedes Olivera on Archiving Day at Quintanilla Middle School
An article was published this morning in the Dallas Morning News titled "In school, putting plans for life on paper." It was written by Mercedes Olivera, Dallas Morning News and published on page 4 of the Metro section for Saturday, 5-15-10:
"It was a ritual unlike any other at most public schools.
This week, eighth-graders each lined up at Quintanilla Middle School in northern Oak Cliff and placed a white envelope inside a 500-pound vault bolted to the floor in the lobby.
Inside the envelope was a letter, written over the course of one hour to three days, containing the students' past, present and – they hope – future.
Alejandra Calderón said she cried when she wrote hers. She wants to be an obstetrician when she grows up and wrote that in her letter.
The simple act of writing down her goal may have sparked an image of her father, who also wrote down what he wanted for his daughter the day she was born.
"Either a lawyer or a doctor," Julio Calderón said, recalling what he wrote that day.
He said he wants more for his children than he did for himself. "There were a lot of things I could've done and didn't," he said.
Natalia Hernández also cried thinking about ..."
The article goes on to speak of more Archive Project details. It was a very positive article that hopefully will encourage more schools to start their own School Archive Projects. Until then, we can celebrate with the students we are honored to serve. This year at Sunset High School the raw graduation rate for the class of 2010 will represent more than 55% of their 9th grade enrollment from 2006/2007. That is a 6% increase from the previous graduation rate record last year of 49%, and almost 20% higher than the average 9th grade graduation rate for the past 10 years at Sunset of only 36.3%!
We have come a long way and still have a long way to go. Let's celebrate breaking the 50% barrier and work to get well past the 60% barrier ASAP at Sunset High School! (The Sunset enrollment history to date is at http://www.studentmotivation.org/DallasISD/#sunset.)
"It was a ritual unlike any other at most public schools.
This week, eighth-graders each lined up at Quintanilla Middle School in northern Oak Cliff and placed a white envelope inside a 500-pound vault bolted to the floor in the lobby.
Inside the envelope was a letter, written over the course of one hour to three days, containing the students' past, present and – they hope – future.
Alejandra Calderón said she cried when she wrote hers. She wants to be an obstetrician when she grows up and wrote that in her letter.
The simple act of writing down her goal may have sparked an image of her father, who also wrote down what he wanted for his daughter the day she was born.
"Either a lawyer or a doctor," Julio Calderón said, recalling what he wrote that day.
He said he wants more for his children than he did for himself. "There were a lot of things I could've done and didn't," he said.
Natalia Hernández also cried thinking about ..."
The article goes on to speak of more Archive Project details. It was a very positive article that hopefully will encourage more schools to start their own School Archive Projects. Until then, we can celebrate with the students we are honored to serve. This year at Sunset High School the raw graduation rate for the class of 2010 will represent more than 55% of their 9th grade enrollment from 2006/2007. That is a 6% increase from the previous graduation rate record last year of 49%, and almost 20% higher than the average 9th grade graduation rate for the past 10 years at Sunset of only 36.3%!
We have come a long way and still have a long way to go. Let's celebrate breaking the 50% barrier and work to get well past the 60% barrier ASAP at Sunset High School! (The Sunset enrollment history to date is at http://www.studentmotivation.org/DallasISD/#sunset.)
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Dallas ISD Wins Broad Award by 2014!
This morning a Dallas Morning News Columnist, Mr. Ragland, wrote an opinion piece on the facts surrounding the failure of Dallas ISD to win the Broad Award in 2010. He made a bet that DISD will also not win the Broad Award in 2011. I venture that there is about an 80% chance he is correct. However, by 2014 at the latest, Dallas ISD will win the Broad Award! DISD is heading in the right direction to win the Broad Award!
In his article Mr. Ragland quoted DISD leaders speaking about significant academic progress made within the past 4 years by DISD students. Dropout rate progress was not mentioned.
Other school districts on the "road to Broad" have pushed academic progress forward causing many struggling student to drop out under the pressure, thereby raising dropout rates. The greatest achievement within DISD is that record academic progress is NOT being made at the cost of a rising dropout rate. Instead, as DISD grades rise the graduation rates are also going up! Dropout rates are going down!
Three of the four most important positive measurements pointing toward rising graduation rates are now at the highest recorded levels in DISD for over a generation! The fourth measurement is also heading up, and will achieve the same "highest in over a generation" level within two years!
Study the graph at http://www.studentmotivation.org/DallasISD.htm#graph to see the documentation for this progress to date.
It shows that the 9th to 10th grade promotion rate has gone up to 75% this year, the Cumulative Promotion Index is now up to 54%, and the 9th to 12th grade promotion rate has now gone up to over 54%. These are all the best measurements in over a generation!
Finally, if you look higher on this same web site you will find the enrollment by grade spreadsheet that generated this graph. It shows that 9th grade enrollment has gone down from an average of over 14,000 students every year prior to 2007/2008, to just 12,300 this year. That reflects that fewer 9th graders are failing and repeating 9th grade, another significant achievement in the past 4 years!
In spite of the fact that total DISD enrollment has gone down over 2% since 2005/2006, the current 10th grade enrollment is one of the largest in a decade. The current 11th and 12th grade enrollments are the largest in DISD history!
While DISD still has a long way to go, there are many very good things happening! DISD students are to be congratulated! As this progress continues, within the next four years DISD students will win the Broad Award!
In his article Mr. Ragland quoted DISD leaders speaking about significant academic progress made within the past 4 years by DISD students. Dropout rate progress was not mentioned.
Other school districts on the "road to Broad" have pushed academic progress forward causing many struggling student to drop out under the pressure, thereby raising dropout rates. The greatest achievement within DISD is that record academic progress is NOT being made at the cost of a rising dropout rate. Instead, as DISD grades rise the graduation rates are also going up! Dropout rates are going down!
Three of the four most important positive measurements pointing toward rising graduation rates are now at the highest recorded levels in DISD for over a generation! The fourth measurement is also heading up, and will achieve the same "highest in over a generation" level within two years!
Study the graph at http://www.studentmotivation.org/DallasISD.htm#graph to see the documentation for this progress to date.
It shows that the 9th to 10th grade promotion rate has gone up to 75% this year, the Cumulative Promotion Index is now up to 54%, and the 9th to 12th grade promotion rate has now gone up to over 54%. These are all the best measurements in over a generation!
Finally, if you look higher on this same web site you will find the enrollment by grade spreadsheet that generated this graph. It shows that 9th grade enrollment has gone down from an average of over 14,000 students every year prior to 2007/2008, to just 12,300 this year. That reflects that fewer 9th graders are failing and repeating 9th grade, another significant achievement in the past 4 years!
In spite of the fact that total DISD enrollment has gone down over 2% since 2005/2006, the current 10th grade enrollment is one of the largest in a decade. The current 11th and 12th grade enrollments are the largest in DISD history!
While DISD still has a long way to go, there are many very good things happening! DISD students are to be congratulated! As this progress continues, within the next four years DISD students will win the Broad Award!
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