Fall 2009	Russell W. Rumberger
Monday 4-7 pm	Office: Education, Room 3113
Education 3138	Office Hours: Monday 2-4 pm
	Email: russ@education.ucsb.edu
	Personal website: http://education.ucsb.edu/rumberger/

Education 250A-01

Doctoral Seminar in Educational Leadership & Organizations:

High School Dropouts

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This seminar will focus on the issue of high school dropouts. More than 1 million students fail to graduate from high school each year in the United States. Dropping out incurs huge costs to both individuals and society at large. The seminar will examine four facets of this issue: 1) the meaning of dropping out and the extent of the problem; 2) the individual and social consequences of dropping out, 3) the causes of dropping out, both individual and institutional; and 4) solutions to the problem, from effective programs to state and national policies. The seminar will draw on both quantitative and qualitative research and examine the problem from local, state, national, and international perspectives.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The issue of dropouts concerns research, policy, and practice. It also is a concern to the students who drop out or could drop out. So although this course is primarily a research course, some of the focus will be on how research can improve policy and practice, and understanding the problem from point of view of the students who drop out.

The first requirement is that students come to class fully prepared to engage in class discussion. This means students are expected to read all the required readings critically before class. Critically reading means understanding the reading’s thesis or main argument and evaluating the strength of the evidence the author uses to support that thesis. Also, as a researcher, are there ways the study could be improved in terms of methods? Additionally, what questions remain unanswered by the study?

The second requirement is that for each week’s topic, students find a personal account—from an academic study, newspaper article, website—of a dropout or would-be dropout that captures or illustrates that topic. You can bring a printed copy of the story or a link to the story. The story could be from a video, including such sites as You Tube.

The third requirement is to prepare a 650-word commentary suitable for publishing in a newspaper. The commentary should address some aspect of the dropout issue and draw on at least one recent research study. Public opinion and public policy are often informed by what appears in the popular press, including commentaries. The purpose of this exercise is to learn to speak to the larger public and convey research information to a non-academic audience. A first draft of the commentary is due November 2. I will provide feedback to these drafts than final copies are due November 16.

The last requirement is to write a term paper on some aspect of the dropout issue. The paper can take two forms. One is a review of the research, where you identify the key aspects of the issue, summarize and critically evaluate the research that addresses those issues, and identify what additional research still needs to be done. The second is to design a research study to address some aspect of the dropout issue, particularly one that has not been subject to much research. The papers are due the last week of class.

COURSE READINGS

All the course readings are available online. Publications in journals can be accessed via the Web of Science database available through the UCSB Library website (http://www.library.ucsb.edu/). The URLs for other studies and websites are provided in the syllabus.

All the materials for the course are available at: http://education.ucsb.edu/rumberger/ed250a/

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1 The Concern for High School Dropouts

Sept. 28

Remarks of President Barack Obama

Address to Joint Session of Congress, February 24, 2009. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-President-Barack-Obama-Address-to-Joint-Session-of-Congress/).

Remarks to Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, March 10, 2009.

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-the-President-to-the-United-States-Hispanic-Chamber-of-Commerce/). (Video: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/10/Taking-on-Education/)

Bridgeland, J.M., DiIulio, J.J., & Morison, K.B. (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives on high school dropouts. Washington, D.C.: Civil Enterprises. (http://www.civicenterprises.net/reports.php)

Thronburgh, N. Dropout Nation, Time, April 6, 2006 (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1181646,00.html).

Alliance for Excellent Education (http://www.all4ed.org/).

Week 2 What Does It Mean to Drop Out?

Oct. 5

Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1988). The value of conformity: Learning to stay in school. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 19, 354-381.

Fine, M. (1986). Why urban adolescents drop into and out of public high school. Teachers College Record, 87, 393-409.

Knesting, K. & Waldron, N. (2006). Willing to play the game: How at-risk students persist in school. Psychology in the Schools, 43, 599-611.

Bridges, M., Braukmann, S., Medina, O., Mireles, L., Spain, A., & Fuller, B. (2008). Giving a voice to California's dropout crisis. Santa Barbara, CA: California Dropout Research Project (http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_reports.htm#9).

Week 3 Measuring Dropout and Graduation Rates

Oct. 12

Warren, J.R. (2005). State-level high school completion rates: Concepts, measures, and trends. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13. (http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v13n51/).

Heckman, J. J. & LaFontaine, P. A. (2008). The American high school graduation rate: Trends and levels. NBER Working Paper 13670 Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. (http://www.nber.org/papers/w13670).

Miao, J. & Haney, W. (2004). High school graduation rates: Alternative methods and implications. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12 (http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n55/).

National Governors Association Task Force on State High School Graduation Data (2005). Graduation Counts. Washington, D.C.: Author. (http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0507GRAD.PDF).

Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, Diplomas Count 2009. (http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2009/06/11/index.html).

Data Quality Campaign (http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/).

Oct. 19 No class

Oct. 26 No class

Week 4 The Individual Consequences of Dropping Out

Nov. 2

Rouse, C.E. The Labor Market Consequences of an Inadequate Education. The Campaign for Educational Equity, Teachers College, Fall 2005 Symposium on the “Social Costs of Inadequate Education.” (http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/EquitySymposium/symposium/resourceDetails.asp?PresId=3).

Sweeten, G., Bushway, S.D., & Paternoster, R. (2009). Does dropping out of school mean dropping into delinquency? Criminology, 47, 47-91.

Manlove, J. (1998). The influence of high school dropout and school disengagement on the risk of school-age pregnancy. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8, 187-220.

Schultz, K. (2001). Constructing Failure, Narrating Success: Rethinking the "Problem" of Teen Pregnancy. Teachers College Record, 103, 582-607.

Week 5 The Social Costs of Dropping Out

Nov. 9

Junn, J. The Political Costs of Unequal Education, The Campaign for Educational Equity, Teachers College, Fall 2005 Symposium on the “Social Costs of Inadequate Education.” (http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/EquitySymposium/symposium/resourceDetails.asp?PresId=9).

Belfield, C. R. & Levin, H. M. (2007). The economic losses from high school dropouts in California. Santa Barbara: California Dropout Research Project. (http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_reports.htm#1).

Week 6 Why Students Drop Out: Individual Factors

Nov. 16

Rumberger, R. W. & Lim, S. A. (2008). Why students drop out of school: A review of 25 years of research. Santa Barbara, CA: California Dropout Research Project. (http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_reports.htm#15).

Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R., & Kabbini, N.S. (2001). The dropout process in life course perspective: Early risk factors at home and school. Teachers College Record, 103, 760-882.

Allensworth, E. & Easton, J. Q. (2005). The on-track indicator as a predictor of high school graduation. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. (http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/content/publications.php?pub_id=10).

Kurlaender, M., Reardon, S., & Jackson, J. (2008). Middle school predictors of high school achievement in three California school districts. Santa Barbara, CA: California Dropout Research Project. (http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_reports.htm#13).

Flores-Gonzalez, N. (1999). Puerto Rican high achievers: An example of ethnic and academic identity compatibility. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 30, 343-362.

Week 7 Why Students Drop Out: Institutional Factors

Nov. 23

Croninger, R.G. & Lee, V.E. (2001). Social capital and dropping out of high school: Benefits to at-risk students of teachers' support and guidance. Teachers College Record, 103, 548-581.

 Lee, V.E. & Burkam, D.T. (2003). Dropping out of high school: The role of school organization and structure. American Educational Research Journal, 40, 353-393.

Rumberger, R.W. & Palardy, G.J. (2005). Test scores, dropout rates, and transfer rates as alternative indicators of high school performance. American Educational Research Journal, 41, 3-42.

Bowditch, C. (1993). Getting rid of troublemakers: High school disciplinary procedures and the production of dropouts. Social Problems, 40, 493-509.

Crowder, K. & South, S.J. (2003). Neighborhood distress and school dropout: The variable significance of community context. Social Science Research, 32, 659-698.

Week 8 Solving the Dropout Problem: Effective Programs

Nov. 30

Dynarski, M., Clarke, L., Cobb, B., Finn, J., Rumberger, R., & Smink, J. (2008). Dropout Prevention: A Practice Guide. (NCEE 2008-4025). Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. (http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc).

Ou, S.-R. (2005). Pathways of long-term effects of an early intervention program on educational attainment: Findings from the Chicago longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 26, 578-611.

Cassidy, W. & Bates, A. (2005). "Drop-Outs" and "Push-Outs": Finding hope at a school that actualizes the ethic of care. American Journal of Education, 112, 66-102.

Week 9 Solving the Dropout Problem: Effective Policies

Dec. 7

Rumberger, R. W. (2008). Solving California's Dropout Crisis. Report of the California Dropout Research Project Policy Committee. Santa Barbara: California Dropout Research Project, University of California, Santa Barbara. (http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_policyreport.htm).

Rumberger, R. W. (2009). What the Federal Government Can Do to Improve High School Performance. Washington, D.C.: Center on Education Policy. (http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=536&parentID=481).

Fleischman, S. & Heppen, J. (2009). Improving low-performing high schools: Searching for evidence of promise. Future of Children, 19, 105-133. (http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/journal_details/index.xml?journalid=30).

Habash, A. (2008). Counting on graduation: An agenda for state leadership. Washington, D.C.: The Education Trust. (http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Product+Catalog/main.htm#hsz).

Dorn, S. (2003). High-stakes testing and the history of graduation. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11. (http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n1/).

Oreoppoulos, P. (2007). Do dropouts drop out too soon? Wealth, health and happiness from compulsory schooling. Journal of Public Economics, 91, 2213-2229.