The Case of the Missing
 

 

High School Students
 

 


Denise Samms

C.I.S 166x

Ms_Samms166@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 



 

 

Where have they gone? 

Have they decided to be “cool?”

 

We Real Cool
by Gwendolyn Brooks

THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

 

 

 

 

                                                                               

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

“Out of the three students sitting closest to you, one will vanish in the next four years,” said the principal to the incoming freshman at a high school class in the Bronx. 

 

What happens to these students?  Where do they go?  Why do they leave school? What do they think will happen to them?  What really happens to them?  What do these students do after they leave school?

 

Imagine you are a newly hired investigative reporter for Channel 7 ABC News.  You have been given the responsibility to research and report on this problem.   What you learn may help solve this problem.

 

THE TASK:

 

Your assignment is to investigate how attrition rates (drop out rates) in the Bronx high schools compare to other places and how they are different.  This is a “WebQuest” assignment, which means you will find information on the web using the computer as a resource tool and guide.  You will be given hyperlinks (references to websites) to visit.  These hyperlinks allow you to visit certain websites to find information that will help you with your research.  Remember your assignment is to investigate how attrition or dropout rates in the Bronx compare to other places.  When you are finished, you will write a report that shows your findings. 

 

Think about what factors affect students and their interests in school and life.  As you complete this exercise, you will gain greater insight into ideas about students leaving school.   Adults and schools seem to think dropping out is a bad thing.  The kids who do so, however, may not agree.  What do you think?

 

You will then:

 

q         Perform a WebQuest research to compile information on worksheets about the “dropout” problem. 

q         Produce a paper (5 pages) based on your Internet research and the information you compile from your worksheets.

q         Give an oral presentation based on your findings to the class.

 

You will be using resources from the TIPS PPA (public policy analyst) website and all other resources listed in this WebQuest.  Remember a WebQuest is a lesson that takes you on journey.  On this journey your mission is to solve a problem and complete a project by visiting websites to research the issue. 

 

Let the journey begin!

 

 

THE PROCESS:

 

o       Find a partner to work with.

 

o       Visit the PPA (Public Policy Analyst Website) by clicking on http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ppa/intro.html

 

o       Continue at the PPA site and work through the tutorial on public policy.  http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/welcome.html. 

 

Ø      Identify the nature of a social problem:  http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

Ø      Gather evidence to support the existence of the problem:  http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html

Ø      Determine the causes and factors contributing to the problem:  http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html

Ø      Evaluating existing public policies:  http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html

Ø      Developing public policy solutions http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html

Ø      Selecting the best public policy solution: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html

 

                     

 

I.   DEFINING  THE  PROBLEM:

 

Here are some questions you should answer through your research:

 

q       What do the terms “attrition” and “dropout” mean?

q       What does it mean to say the dropout rate is a social problem?  Is it?

 

Complete Worksheet1: Defining the Social Problem:

 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet1.html

 

 

First, you need to figure out what the problem is.  Here are a couple of sites that might help:

SCHOOL DROPOUTS: NEW INFORMATION ABOUT AN OLD PROBLEM by Wendy Schwartz   

http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/digests/dig109.html

 

 

This article is pretty long but you can pick out its highlights:  How Many Central City High Schools Have a Severe Dropout Problem, Where Are They Located, and Who Attends Them?  By Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters http://www.law.harvard.edu/civilrights/publications/dropouts/dropout/balfanz.html

 

 

II.   GATHERING YOUR EVIDENCE:

 

 

What evidence suggests attrition is a problem in the Bronx high schools?

 

 

 

Complete Worksheet #2: Gathering evidence of the problem: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet2.html

 

This site will help you understand how to calculate a dropout rate:

 

High School Dropout Rates

www.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/dropout.html

 

These reports are about the number of dropouts from the New York City Board of Education:

 

The Class of 2001 Four-Year Longitudinal Graduation and Dropout Report

http://www.nycenet.edu/daa/reports/Class%20of%202001_presentation.pdf

 

 

In this report, there is an appendix with a table of the dropout rates for Bronx high schools (on Page 32).  There are also tables that show the rates for the other boroughs so you can compare the Bronx rates with the rates of other schools.

 

The Class of 1997 Final Longitudinal Report a Three-Year Follow-up Study

http://www.nycenet.edu/daa/reports/Class%20of%201997.pdf

 

 

These reports show dropout information for the entire U.S. and in the state of Washington so you can compare the Bronx to the rest of the country.

 

Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002114.pdf

 

Dropout Rates in the United States: 1999

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/dropout/

 

Graduation Rates in Washington State by Jay P. Greene, Ph.D.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_27.htm

 

 

 

 

III.   IDENTIFYING THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM:

 

q       What are some of the causes of this social problem?

 

 

Complete Worksheet #3:  Identifying the cause of the problem

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet3.html

 

 

Some people have thought about the high attrition rates and are concerned with the question, “What can be done about this?”

A goldmine of links:  DROPOUTS IN AMERICA: How severe is the problem?

http://www.law.harvard.edu/civilrights/publications/dropouts/dropout.html

 

The Dropout Argument: Do Hispanic students drop out more?  By Stephen D. Krashen

http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/krashen_dropouts.html

 

Latina Girls’ High School Drop-Out Rate Highest in U.S. by Olga Vives

http://www.now.org/nnt/fall-2001/latinas.html

 

N.Y. Regents standards resulting in more dropouts, school system administrators report in CU survey by Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/02/6.27.02/Regents-dropouts.html

 

Reducing the Dropout Rate by E. Gregory Woods

http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/9/c017.htmlv

 

 

IV.   EVALUATING EXISTING PUBLIC POLICIES:

 

Complete Worksheet #4:  Evaluating existing public policies.

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet4.html

 

Here are a couple of things New York has been trying to do to help the drop-out problem: 

 

Alternative High Schools: Models For the Future? By Gay G. Knutson

http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/HSJ/Knutson.asp

 

Who We Are: New Visions for Public Schools

http://www.newvisions.org/about/

 

This article reports, “The city will open 28 new high schools next month, as it launches its most ambitious attempt ever to curb the double-digit

dropout rate.”

New high schools in war vs. dropouts August 27, 2002 by ALISON GENDAR (Daily News)

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/14114p-13405c.html .


Can you find other things that are being done?  Go to www.google.com and try entering these key words exactly as shown to look for other ideas:

 

dropout OR dropouts solution OR solutions policy OR policies "high school"

 

 

 

 

V.   DEVELOPING PUBLIC POLICY SOLUTIONS:

 

With your partner, think about three new ways that we might do better in dealing with the problem of attrition in high schools. 

 

Here is one proposal you might consider:

 

National Dropout Prevention Act:

http://www.aspira.org/PolicyUpdates/NATIONAL%20DROPOUT%20PREVENTION%20ACT.pdf

 

 

 Click on the link below and print out the worksheet. Fill it out with the three different ideas you have that might decrease the attrition rates in Bronx high schools.

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet5.html

 

 

 

VI.   SELECTING THE BEST PUBLIC POLICY SOLUTION:

 

 

Again with your partner, discuss how feasible and effective each of your three new solutions might be.  Then complete the following worksheet with your conclusions:

 

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet6.html

 

RESOURCES:

 

Other resources or search engines you can visit if you would like more information are:

www.AskJeeves.com

www.AltaVista.com.

www.Yahoo.com

www.MSN.com

 

 

EVALUATION: RUBRIC AND STANDARDS:

 

 

Rubric

 4   Excellent     

                                      

 3     Satisfactory

 2     Fair

 1  Poor   (Do Over)

Understanding

the

Task

COMPLETES THE ENTIRE TASK.

COMPLETES MOST OF THE TASK.

COMPLETES PART OF THE TASK.

COMPLETES LITTLE OF THE TASK.

Development and

Organization

VERY WELL DEVELOPED AND ORGANIZED.

MOSTLY DEVELOPED AND ORGANIZED.

PARTLY DEVELOPED AND ORGANIZED.

HARDLY DEVELOPED

AND ORGANIZED.

Vocabulary

EXCELLENT VOCABULARY USAGE.

 

GOOD VOCABULARY USAGE.

WEAK VOCABULARY USAGE.

POOR VOCABULARY USAGE.

Grammar

and

Punctuation

EXCELLENT GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION WITH NO ERRORS.

GOOD GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION WITH SOME ERRORS.

WEAK GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION WITH MANY ERRORS.

POOR GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION WITH MULTIPLE ERRORS.

 

 

 

 

Standards:

 

This WebQuest also incorporates the following New York City Performance Standards for English:

 

E1c: Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2a: Produce a report of information.

E3b: Participate in group meetings.

E3c: Prepare and deliver an individual presentation.

E4b: Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

 

This WebQuest also incorporates the following New York State Performance Standards for Social Studies:

 

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments, the

governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States constitution; the basic civic values of American constitution, 

democracy, and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

When you have completed this WebQuest journey, you would have accomplished many things:

 

First, you will have a deeper understanding of the problem of attrition rates in many of the Bronx high schools. 

Second, you will have demonstrated your ability to use the Internet to do research. 

Third, you will have analyzed an issue and made decisions on what policies would be most effective using logic and evidence. 

Fourth, you will have written a five-page article that reports on your investigation of dropouts in the Bronx.

Fifth, you can help bring about change by sharing your ideas with people who are concerned about this issue.

 

 

OTHER

 

*This WebQuest was prepared in association with the TIPS 2002 program, Bronx, New York.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be cool, stay in school!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***