Student Dashboard Metrics Chapter 5 - Grades and Credits

Chapter Introduction

Introduction

The most common form of assessment in education is subject area or course grades. Subject area grades are primarily used at the elementary level, whereas course grades are used most often at the secondary levels. Grades are widely used and accepted by educators, parents, and students as measures of growth and success. Many studies have identified course performance in core subject areas such as mathematics and English as strong predictors of high school completion. Measures including downward trending grades, grades below a C level and failing grades are all ways to flag struggling students and ensure early intervention.

Chicago freshmen with less than a C average are more likely to drop out than graduate (Allensworth & Easton, 2007).
Conversely, among Chicago students who earn a B average or above in their freshman year, over 95% graduate. These same students have an 80 percent chance of finishing high school with at least a 3.0 grade point average (Allensworth & Easton, 2007)
Among Philadelphia sixth graders who failed math and/or English, over 80 percent did not graduate within a year of their expected graduation. Although course grades were found to be highly predictive of falling off the graduation path, by comparison, fifth and sixth grade test scores were not (Balfanz, Herzog, & MacIver, 2007).
In Chicago Public Schools, the likelihood of a student graduating from high school in four years diminishes with each course failure a student has (Allensworth & Easton, 2007):

o Zero course failures: 85% of students graduated

o One semester course failure: 70% of students graduated

o Two semester course failures: 55% of students graduated

o Students with three or more failing grades are not likely to graduate

Although attendance is a similarly powerful predictor of both course failure and dropping out of school, by the end of the first semester, class grades and failure rates are slightly better predictors of graduation than attendance (Allensworth & Easton, 2007).

How to Use the Metric

The Class Grades metrics allow educators to readily identify students with failing grades, immediately after the end of each grading period in order to provide timely and appropriate support to students. Educators are also able to quickly identify students who may or may not be failing but whose grades are declining, putting them at risk of future failure or, at a minimum, not achieving at their full potential. The better a student’s grades, the greater likelihood they will graduate.

For additional insight into how to best address a student’s needs, educators should also review the student’s academic history (detailed course credit and grade information for current and prior years) to see related courses with which a student may be struggling or has struggled with in the past. In addition, educators can review aggregated information on failing and declining grades by student and for the class as a whole (“classroom” view) in order to identify and address similar issues among groups of students or within a particular subject.

With the ability to closely monitor course performance at the end of each grading period, educators can introduce specific academic interventions with one student or a group of students before a declining grade or failure in one grading period becomes a permanent low grade or course failure and credit deficit at semester- or year-end. In addition to targeted academic support, teachers can pursue interventions to improve the conditions that research suggests affect classroom effort and achievement (Balfanz, Herzog, & MacIver, 2007):

Support: how well students feel supported and encouraged to succeed.
Academic Press: the extent to which students feel hard work is expected.
Parental involvement: the degree to which parents help with homework.
Utility: the extent to which students believe their studies will be useful in life.
Interest: the degree to which students find their studies interesting and engaging.

Teachers should review course performance detail and academic history at the end of each grading period as new results are available to ensure failing and declining course grades are promptly addressed and students are brought back on-track. It is important to note that once course performance data are available, they are an even more accurate predictor of student success than attendance. Having access to a student’s overall course performance allows teachers across subject areas, as well as counselors, to work collaboratively to address adverse patterns in student performance.

Class Grades

How to Use the Metric

Support: how well students feel supported and encouraged to succeed.
Academic Press: the extent to which students feel hard work is expected.
Parental involvement: the degree to which parents help with homework.
Utility: the extent to which students believe their studies will be useful in life.
Interest: the degree to which students find their studies interesting and engaging.

Metric Specifications

Student Class Grades

Grades Below C

Metric Specifications

Falling Class Grades

Metric Specifications

Failing Subject Area Course Grades

Metric Specifications

Algebra I

Introduction

At the High School level, students should be enrolled in and passing Algebra I by grade nine. This course lays the foundation for math success and starting Algebra I by grade nine enables students to progress to Algebra II by grade eleven.

Many public and private four-year colleges and universities require students to take at least Algebra II, if not a course beyond it in high school, just to be eligible for admissions.
More importantly, students who take higher-level math courses generally perform better in both college courses and in the workplace (Achieve, 2008).
Success in Algebra is correlated to job readiness and higher earnings (Rose & Betts, 2001).

Regarding the impact of completing higher-level math on students’ postsecondary success, job readiness and earnings:

Students who study math at least though Algebra II in high school are more than twice as likely as non-Algebra II students to earn a four-year degree (Adelman, 2006).
Moreover, the likelihood of a student completing a bachelor’s degree is significantly greater with each increasing level of rigor in high school math courses completed by the student (Rose & Betts, 2001). After controlling for demographic factors correlated with college entry (including ethnicity, parental education and income, school size and demographics, and teachers’ education level):
- seventy three percent of students who took calculus during high school earned a bachelor’s degree
- fifty six percent of students who took “advanced” algebra (beyond Algebra II), but not calculus, earned a bachelor’s degree
- thirty four percent of those who took “intermediate” algebra (comparable to Algebra II) earned a bachelor’s degree
- Just 13% of those who only took some algebra and/or geometry earned bachelor’s degrees
- Only 3% of those who took “vocational” math completed a bachelor’s degree

Regarding access to and participation in higher level math courses, economically disadvantaged, African American and Hispanic students have been underserved. Monitoring gaps in performance and closing them addresses the following concerns:

In a study of the 1992 national cohort of twelfth grade students, students from the lowest socioeconomic status quintile were much less likely to attend high schools that even offer any math courses above Algebra. For example, only 64% of the high schools attended by students in the lowest quintile offered trigonometry compared to over 83% of the high schools attended by students in the highest quintile (Adelman, 2006).
In a study of California high school students, 9 and 10% of Hispanic and African American students, respectively, took advanced Algebra or calculus, compared to 22% of White students and 43% of Asian students (Rose & Betts, 2001).

How to use the Metric

The Algebra I metric allows educators to easily identify students who are not meeting the key prerequisite for higher math. Educators can readily view for each student whether or not they are currently enrolled in and passing Algebra I, or have taken and passed Algebra I during a prior year. To fully understand a student’s progression toward higher math, educators should also review a student’s academic history to understand when and where an Algebra course was or is being taken, current grades, or, for prior Algebra students, how credit was obtained and final grades. Teachers and counselors may also view Algebra performance by student and for the class as a whole in a “classroom” dashboard, allowing educators to identify groups of students with similar math achievement levels within a particular classroom.

As schools and districts work to increase participation and performance in advanced math courses, this information can be used in several ways:

In the case of students who have never enrolled, teachers and counselors can quickly identify students who need to be enrolled and, based on each student’s academic history, provide the necessary support to register and prepare them for Algebra I.
For students who are currently enrolled in Algebra I, teachers can quickly identify students who need additional academic support to successfully complete the course.
In the case of former Algebra I students, teachers of advanced math courses can view Algebra I performance to evaluate the level of support students may require as they engage in more rigorous coursework.

By quickly identifying students in need of support, teachers and counselors can work collaboratively to implement strategies research suggests can improve math performance, including (National Math Advisory Panel, 2008):

Team teaching approaches that allow teachers to target the full range of student needs;
After school or summer programs with a math focus; and
Small group and one-on-one tutoring sessions.

Teachers and counselors should view Algebra I information for their students at the beginning of each school year and as often as new grades are available.

Metric Specifications

Credit Accumulation

Introduction

All state education agencies establish graduation requirements for students attending public high schools within the state. These requirements typically encompass both the quantity (i.e., units or credits) to be completed as well as the quality (i.e., subject area and rigor) of courses to be successfully completed by each student for a particular type of diploma. Individual school districts may also impose additional graduation requirements beyond those set by the state. Multiple graduation requirements necessitate close monitoring of student-level credit accumulation and course failures, ensuring students are both enrolling and succeeding in a sufficient number of eligible classes, starting in the ninth grade. Fortunately, credit accumulation and course performance data are available at regular intervals throughout the year, allowing for mid-course correction and intervention before students become at risk of not graduating on time, or at all.

For example, in Texas, students are required to accumulate 26 course credits in order to graduate under either the Recommended High School Program (Recommended) or the Distinguished Achievement Program (Distinguished). Although the two types of diplomas vary according to the rigor of eligible classes as well as other measures (e.g., advanced course exam grades), the number of credits required is the same. Although the default graduation plan in Texas is the Recommended plan, pending agreement of a school-based review committee, some students may receive a waiver to complete a Minimum Graduation Plan requiring only 22 credits and fewer core courses for graduation.

Research confirms that credit accumulation and related course performance are strongly correlated with prospects for high school graduation, as early as the ninth grade:

Early credit shortfalls are telltale: research among Chicago high school students suggests that students who earn fewer than five credits during their first year, and fail more than one course, are not on track to graduate. The likelihood of an “off-track” student graduating in four years is one-quarter that for an “on-track” student (Allensworth & Easton, 2005).
Course failures lead to credit deficits: in Chicago Public Schools, the likelihood of a student graduating from high school in four years diminishes with each course failure a student has (Allensworth & Easton 2007):
- Zero course failures: 85% of students graduated
- One semester course failure: 70% of students graduated
- Two semester course failures: 55% of students graduated
- Students with three or more failing grades are not likely to graduate

How to Use the Metric

The Credit Accumulation metric provides educators with a quick status check on whether or not a student has sufficient credits to meet the credit requirements of the state or district graduation plan(s). Any student with a shortfall between credits earned and credits required as of the most recent grading period is immediately flagged to alert a teacher or a counselor that prompt intervention and support are needed. Having readily identified students who are behind, educators can then review student academic history (with detailed course, credit and grade information for current and prior years) to more specifically identify the source of the credit shortfall and thus how to address it. To fully understand each student’s progression toward meeting graduation requirements, educators should also view the Credit Accumulation: Core Course requirement and Graduation Plan metrics, which give further information on whether or not credits earned meet graduation requirements in core subjects and whether or not credits earned support the student’s intended graduation plan, if it is different from the default plan.

In addition to tracking credit accumulation, it is important for teachers and counselors to closely monitor course performance before a course failure or credit deficit occurs at semester- or year-end. The Class Grades metrics enable educators to easily identify students who have failing or declining grades and grades below C level at the end of each grading period in order to provide timely and appropriate support.

Teachers should review credit accumulation, course performance detail and academic history at the end of each grading period as new results are available to ensure students are completing requisite courses on time and, if not, to pursue interventions to quickly bring students back on track.