Essential question: How can we address the short-term problem of ninth graders entering high school unprepared to master essential content and skills?
In the long run, success in high school would be greatly enhanced if an academic or a career plan or both, starting in middle school through the postsecondary level, were required for all students. The plan must identify the college or career pathway, or both, associated with each student’s goals and be reviewed annually and modified as needed throughout high school.
Results from the 2005 California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) test reveal that 28 percent of California eighth grade students scored below basic or far below basic on the California Standards Test (CST) in English-language arts. The CST in general mathematics for the eighth grade showed 41 percent of the students scoring below basic or far below basic and 37 percent scoring below basic or far below basic in Algebra I.1
An alarming number of California students are entering high school with below basic or far below basic scores in English-language arts and mathematics. Immediate actions are needed to ensure that these students succeed in high school. It is deemed crucial as a central strategy, to create a formal transition program from middle school to high school and to restructure the ninth grade to provide a more personalized environment with smaller classes and counseling support. Finally, appropriate academic interventions and safety nets must be put in place to accelerate the learning of students who are entering high school unprepared to succeed in a rigorous course of study.
Recommendation 4.1
School districts shall provide research-based, state-funded bridge programs for exiting eighth graders who are below basic or far below basic on the California Standards Tests (CSTs) in English-language arts (ELA) or mathematics or both. Participation is mandatory for those students who are far below basic.
Recommendation 4.2
Grade nine shall be structured as a “transition-year program” designed to promote personalization and the ability of teachers to know students well. To this end, currently available funding for class-size reduction for all ninth grade students shall be enhanced to ensure small classes for all four core academic areas (English, mathematics, science and social studies).
Recommendation 4.3
State funding shall be allocated to develop and implement academic interventions for ninth grade students who are not yet proficient on the CST in ELA or algebra.
Recommendation 4.4
Funding shall be provided for a ninth grade counselor dedicated to every 250 students who are below basic or far below basic in ELA or mathematics or both. The counselor shall be responsible for developing and monitoring interventions for those students.
Subcommittee 4 full Report and Recommendations (PDF; 115KB; 16pp.)
Footnote
1 California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR): All Students, California Standards Test Scores—2005. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2005.
