A Review of Literature and Early Warning Indicatory Systems in Road Map School Districts Puget Sound Educational Service District On behalf of the Road

A Review of Literature and Early Warning Indicatory Systems in Road Map School Districts

Puget Sound Educational Service DistrictOn behalf of the Road Map School Districts of

Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, Seattle, Tukwila

Funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

March 2013

Introduction - Early Warning Indicator Systems (EWIS)

• Research shows that students at risk of dropping out give warning signs years in advance.

• School districts can use an Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) to identify which students are off track and at risk of leaving school before graduation.

• When student data and accurate indictors are aligned with appropriate interventions, students who are off-track can be brought back on-track for graduation.

• Patterns in the information about students who are off-track can lead to improvements in district and school policies, structures and practices.

EWIS Inventory of Road Map School Districts – March 2013

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Research

Why this matters for Road Map school districts

Road Map Graduation Statistics (The Road Map Project 2012 Results Report)

• 72% of students graduated on time (vs. 75% statewide)

• 16% of Road Map students are ELLs and 50% of ELLs graduated on time

• 46% of SPED students graduated on time

• 20% of students switched schools and of this group, almost three quarters transferred between districts.


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Road Map

Project Goals

Road Map Project Goal

To double the number of students in South King County and South Seattle who are on track to graduate from college or earn a career credential by 2020

Race to the Top Grant

• Full integration of the High School and Beyond Plan• Investment in an integrated system of middle and high school

counseling and advising• Creation of a common data portal for Road Map district student

information


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Road Map

Step 1

Establish roles and responsibilities to manage a EWIS

Step 2

Use a EWIS tool analyze and display data on

indicators

Step 6

Monitor students and interventions for

progress

Step 7

Evaluate and refine the EWIS process; monitor

systems issues

Step 5

Assign and provide interventions to

students

Step 4

Interpret the EWIS data to identify students and systems issues

Step 3

Review the EWIS data for accuracy and

patterns

Early Warning System Implementation StepsThe National High School Center, Early Warning System Implementation Guide

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Research

Findings from Road Map Districts

• Overall, EWIS efforts are not uniform within any district or across the Road Map districts and not as systematic as a EWIS described in most research literature.

• Each school district has some elements of a EWIS in place. Several districts have made great strides in different areas.

• There is a considerable body of shared expertise among the Road Map districts, and there appears to be great interest in learning more and working with other Road Map school districts toward a common EWIS framework.

EWIS Inventory of Road Map School Districts - March 2013

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Road Map


• Most districts consider early warning indicators in the areas of attendance and academic performance – including course failures, credits earned toward graduation and MSP/EOC/HSPE scores.

• Few districts appear to consider the number of absences in the first 20-30 days of a semester or the occurrence of a student joining their graduating cohort after the start of middle school as indicators.

• District personnel acknowledge some concerns about the reliability and validity of the data that is used to measure the early warning indicators. This includes standards for determining an absence to be excused or unexcused and what constitutes a behavior referral.


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Road Map

Research on indicators


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Indicators National Research

A. Attendance Less than 80%

B. Behavior An unsatisfactory final behavior mark in MS, a 9th grade suspension, or two behavior infractions or suspensions

C. Course Performance Failing Math or English in middle school, failing two 9th grade courses

Research

Agreement on Road Map indicators


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Road Map

Indicators Road Map Indicators

Attendance

And

Course Performance

5-10 absences – excused or unexcused

And

One course failure in 8th or 9th grade

Behavior A single suspension/expulsion in 8th or 9th grade

Research on indicators

Predictive Indicators• Indicators become more predictive as students move to higher grade

levels in middle and high school and failure impacts accrual of credits.

Transitions• Transitions from one school level to the next are critical – the first year

of middle school or junior high; the first year of high school.

Student Mobility• Students who join their graduating cohort after the beginning of middle

school are less likely to graduate.

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Research


Research on indicators (continued)

ELL Students• For ELL students, course performance is the most predictive ABC

indicator. Long term ELL students and ELL students who are identified in 9th grade or later are less likely to graduate.

Special Education Students• SPED students need specific strategies such as alternative diplomas,

alternative course to graduation and intensive interventions.

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Research


Research on intervention priorities (MacIver & MacIver, 2009)

Absenteeism• Decrease absenteeism – it is strongly related to course failure

• Address the root causes of absenteeism and intervene during the middle school years to increase attendance

Behavior• Address the root causes of behavior problems and intervene during

the middle school years to improve behavior

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Research


Research on intervention priorities (MacIver & MacIver, 2009)

Course Performance• Provide academic interventions during the middle school years so

that students enter ninth grade prepared for high school coursework

• Reduce the number of students failing courses and increase the percentage of students earning high school credits on time

Family Engagement• Engage parents with EWIS information and interventions

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Research


A tiered approach to intervention


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Universal Prevention

Targeted Intervention

Intensive Intervention

All students 10-25% 5-10%Attendance

Every absence brings a response

Create a culture that says attending every day matters

Positive social incentives for good attendance

Data tracking by teacher teams

2 or more unexcused absences in a month brings a brief daily check by an adult

Attendance team investigates and problems-solves

Sustained one-on-one attention and problem-solving

Appropriate social service or community supports

Research


• Districts have existing interventions but these are not well-aligned with indicators.

• Only a few districts have clear expectations for different staff about using a EWIS (to the degree that a district has a EWIS) or have systematically trained staff on how to do so.

• Expectations and intervention practices are most well established when accountability for school districts has been well defined. Two examples are:

• when attendance issues for a student trigger the provisions in the Becca Bill

• when a student has not met standard on a state assessment.


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Road Map

Work in Progress

Districts complete the EWIS Implementation Cycle Planning Tool(from the National High School Center, Early Warning System Implementation Guide).• A clearer picture can emerge about strengths of each district that

can be shared with other districts. Additionally, this process can identify common needs across all the districts, such as needs for resources and technical assistance.

Districts complete the EWIS Mapping of Early Warning Indicator Interventions – Planning Tool• A clearer picture can emerge about the available interventions or

gaps in interventions that address each indicator, and that fit in each RtI and PBIS tier. Use the planning tools in the National High School Center implementation guide.


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Road Map

General Recommendations (continued)

• Integrate the existing elements of a EWIS in each district into a systematic approach rather than building entirely new district systems.

• Build EWIS functions into the Race to the Top regional data portal to include clear dashboard displays of EWIs information and the ability to track students who move from one Road Map district to another.

• Create ways to engage parents and students with EWIS information and communities with interventions.


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Road Map

Next steps – Phase 2 of the Road Map EWIS Inventory

Develop a framework for interventions that align with EWIS data and that accommodate a full continuum of intervention strategies with academic and behavioral strands including dropout reengagement and credit retrieval strategies.

Create a best practice central repository at PSESD.

www.psesd.org/road-map-early-warning-system

Prepare for Phase 2 - expand interventions available to students.

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Road Map

Thank You

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Road MapResearc

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Documents

A Review of Literature and Early Warning Indicatory Systems in Road Map School Districts Puget Sound Educational Service District On behalf of the Road