Goal
- Evaluate and change policies and practices at the state, district, and school level that may be hindering students from graduating.
Research has shown that schools themselves contribute significantly to the dropout problem. The practices and policies in place can create conditions that push students out of school unintentionally. The biggest policy barriers tend to be related to behavior, attendance and discipline.
The National Dropout Prevention Center lists some school-related factors associated with dropping out:
- Conflict between home/school cultures
- Ineffective discipline system
- Lack of adequate counseling
- Negative school climate
- Lack of relevant curriculum
- Passive instructional strategies
- Inappropriate use of technology
- Disregard of student learning styles
- Retentions/suspensions
- Low expectations
- Lack of language instruction
Why is it important?
Schools are increasingly tasked with meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. However, school policies and procedures seem inflexible, unaccommodating, and unchanging to meet the population it serves.
There are many areas in which a school can reform in order to better support student success. Reforming policies and procedures concerning discipline and attendance, grading, standards, and assessments, retention, and in areas like school structure and class assignment, course content and instructional practices, school climate and relationships can greatly impact student success.
Resources
- Policies and Practices Assessment
Designed to assist local education providers in assessing their policies, practices, programs and services that play a role in dropout prevention and student re-engagement. - What is a CDE Practices Assessment?
- CDE Elementary School Practices Assessment
- CDE Middle School Practices Assessment
- CDE High School Practices Assessment
- CDE District Practices Assessment
- CDE Practices Assessment Glossary
