Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024
I.
At-Risk Student Definition
A. A student at
risk of dropping out of school is any student who, because of his or her
individual needs, requires temporary or ongoing intervention in order to
achieve in school and to graduate with meaningful options for his or her
future.
B. Students--depending on
their degree of resiliency and connectedness to caring adults in the home, in
the community, and/or at school--may respond differently to those things
frequently cited as barriers, predictors, or indicators of being "at risk."
Therefore, educators and other responsible adults working with students should
consider the whole child, who might have both short-term and long-term needs
requiring intervention.
II. At-Risk Student Indicators, Predictors,
and Barriers
The South Carolina Education and Economic Development Act
mandates the promulgation of State Board of Education regulations outlining
specific objective criteria for districts to use in identifying students who
may be poorly prepared for the next level of study or who are at risk of
dropping out of school. The Act calls for these criteria to include diagnostic
assessments for districts to use in order to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of individual students in the core academic areas.
A. Poor academic performance--generally, a
grade point average of 2.0 or lower on a 4.0 scale--in the core content areas
is a significant predictor that districts must consider in identifying at-risk
students. Careful consideration should be given to students demonstrating
declining academic performance. School districts are encouraged to carefully
review a variety of assessments, including the following, in diagnosing
students' academic difficulties and selecting appropriate short-term and
long-term interventions:
1. results of
statewide assessments used for accountability purposes and other state-funded
(e.g., formative) assessments,
2.
Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) or PLAN test results,
3. district- or school-adopted CAI
(computer-aided instruction) assessments,
4. end-of-course examination
results,
5. classroom-level
assessments related to the state's academic standards, and
6. other district-approved diagnostic
assessments.
B. The
following are among the specific behaviors and characteristics that school
districts must consider as indicators, predictors, and barriers in identifying
at-risk students:
1. being overage for their
grade level due to retention attributable to risk factors such as a high rate
of absences and truancy;
2. showing
a lack of effort or interest in their academic work;
3. working an excessive number of hours per
day or week;
4. having a history of
discipline problems leading to suspension, expulsion, and/or
probation;
5. showing or expressing
feelings of being disconnected from the school environment;
6. showing evidence of physical and/or
emotional abuse;
7. coming from
and/or living in a disadvantaged socioeconomic environment;
8. living in a home situation that does not
include at least one parent;
9.
being a single parent; and
10.
having limited proficiency in the English language.
III. At-Risk Student Model,
Initiative, and Program Selection
By the 2007-08 school year each high school of the state must
implement one or more model programs approved by the South Carolina Department
of Education (SCDE).
Schools must select at-risk student models, initiatives, and
programs that meet the needs of the at-risk populations to be served and must
ensure that models, initiatives, and programs selected provide students with
the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma. The SCDE will provide
an implementation document that will include a tiered matrix of approved
evidence-based models, initiatives, and programs to facilitate the selection
process in accordance with the Education and Economic Development Act
requirements for implementing evidence-based models, initiatives, and programs.
The document will also contain a more extensive list of indicators, predictors,
and barriers as well as one-page descriptions for each evidence-based model,
initiative, and program included in the matrix.
IV. Population and Model, Initiative, and
Program Identification Parameters
Each high school either must implement a model, initiative, or
program that is chosen from a list provided by the SCDE or must submit to the
SCDE for approval a specific dropout prevention model, comprehensive
initiative, or multifaceted program that it wants to use. High schools may
explore and implement newly developed models with approval from the SCDE. One
criterion for SCDE approval of any newly developed model will be evidence
presented by the district and/or school that the model is centered in
research-based dropout-prevention strategies.
A. Implementation efforts related to any
model, initiative, or program (or combination of models, initiatives, and
programs) must ensure that students are properly identified and provided
timely, appropriate guidance and assistance and must ensure that no group is
disproportionately represented.
B.
When subpopulations are identified, high schools must ensure that these groups
reflect the demographics of populations identified as at risk of dropping out
of school.
C. When no
subpopulations are identified, high schools implementing comprehensive
initiatives will not have to address the disproportionate representation of any
one group of students. In such cases, methods of determining the effectiveness
of the at-risk initiative must be given careful consideration with regard to
collecting data and preparing necessary reports.
D. Parental involvement must be part of final
placement decisions in any model, initiative, or program where small groups of
students are identified for services in a particular school or
district.
E. The target population
must reflect the demographics of the population identified in Section II,
above, as being at risk of dropping out of school.
F. High schools must provide relevant data
related to identifying the at-risk student population and to addressing the
needs of these at-risk students as required for SCDE reports.
V. Building-Level Program
Evaluation
A. Evaluation Criteria
All high schools must annually evaluate their
dropout-prevention models, initiatives, and/or programs using, at a minimum,
the following criteria:
1. an
identification process, including (where appropriate and based on the
particular model, initiative, or program) the number of at-risk students
identified and the specific risk factors identified;
2. the extent of parental involvement in the
school's dropout-prevention efforts;
3. the number of students served;
4. a formative assessment of strengths and
weaknesses of the model, initiative, and/or program; and
5. a qualitative assessment of desired
outcomes (see item B, immediately below).
B. Desired Outcomes
Schools should establish desired outcomes or performance
criteria based on the specific needs of the at-risk population identified and
on the nature and structure of the particular model, initiative, and/or program
they are implementing. Examples of desired outcomes among the target population
include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. decreased percentages of truancy,
absenteeism, discipline problems, and retentions;
2. increases in students' grade point
averages; and
3. increased
percentages of students who are on grade level and students who graduate on
time.
Model-, initiative-, and/or program-specific data and
PowerSchoolT data elements should be used to assess desired outcomes on the
basis of specific evaluation criteria. The state's PowerSchoolT data management
system can be used to collect, sort, and report data related to each student's
attendance record; age and grade level; gender; ethnicity; grade point average;
and retention, truancy, and dropout status.
C. Teacher and/or counselor assessments may
be used to provide supplemental anecdotal documentation and insights related to
the effectiveness of the model, initiative, and/or program implemented. A
district or school checklist may be beneficial in the evaluation
process.
VI. Model,
Initiative, and/or Program Evaluation and Assessment Reporting
All high schools must annually provide reports requested by the
SCDE that relate to the implementation and effectiveness of models,
initiatives, and/or programs addressing the needs of students at risk of
dropping out of school. District and school report card contents must contain
information on the disciplinary climate, promotion and retention ratios,
dropout ratios, dropout reduction data, and attendance data. Districts and
schools must be prepared to provide accurate and relevant data to the
SCDE.
Statutory Authority: S.C. Code Ann. Sections
59-5-60
(2004), 59-5-65 (2004 & Supp. 2010), and 59-59-10, et seq. (Supp.
2010)
