October 2008

Welcome

As the Back to School season gets underway, the National High School Center would like to share its latest resources and news on critical high school-related topics!

In This Issue

In this issue of E-News for Better High Schools, readers will gain access to our latest publications featuring postsecondary pathways, a mapping framework that examines elements of high school improvement, and early warning tools for dropout prevention; learn about and access resources from the National High School Center's 2008 Summer Institute; and receive updates on the Web site.

Suite of Products Released Detailing Successful Postsecondary Pathways

Too often today, high school students' instructional training and experiences in the classroom do not adequately prepare them for what is expected in postsecondary education and the workforce. To address this national challenge, the National High School Center released a suite of products that examines the core elements and educational interventions currently facilitating students' successful transitions out of high school to college and the workforce. The publications, authored by Michael Bangser and Thomas J. Smith of MDRC (a partner of the National High School Center), include :

	Preparing High School Students for Successful Transitions to Postsecondary Education and Employment This issue brief highlights lessons learned from selected policies and programs designed to improve students' preparation for postsecondary pathways. The publication summarizes core characteristics of popular interventions in a user-friendly chart, poses overarching implementation questions and challenges, and includes considerations for students with disabilities. The brief notes that a number of promising approaches are available to improve transitions out of high school, but cautions that effective implementation is key.
	Striking the Balance: Career Academies Combine Academic Rigor and Workplace Relevance This snapshot takes a closer look at the implementation of the Career Academy model, an innovative approach to infusing life relevancy and critical thinking skills into the academic curriculum. Painting a picture of one high school's experience in Oakland, California, the resource documents the mechanics of the program, how it prepares students for college, and the challenges encountered along the way .
	Evaluating the Impact of Interventions that Promote Successful Transitions from High School This research brief examines the challenges and opportunities presented in evaluating whether an intervention achieves defined goals of increasing students' educational attainment, employment, and earnings after high school.
	State-Level High School Improvement Systems Checklist This checklist can be used to assess where states are in terms of using existing support and guidance mechanisms, and reconfirming and/or creating new structures to leverage system change for high school improvement. The elements listed in the checklist may be helpful in establishing or refining state education planning and implementation processes.

Mapping Framework Offers Eight Elements of High School Improvement

The National High School Center's goal is to encourage researchers, policymakers, and practitioners at all levels to engage in comprehensive systemic efforts to maximize attainment for all high school students. Eight Elements of High School Improvement: A Mapping Framework consists of eight core elements and provides a lens for mapping school, district, and state high school improvement efforts. The exercise of mapping should inform strategic planning and implementation efforts by illuminating the connections among elements, revealing strengths and gaps in current state and district policies, and highlighting the stakeholders who should be aware of and involved in future improvement efforts. This document served as the foundation for the National High School Center's second annual Summer Institute in support of the Regional Comprehensive Centers' work on high school (see below).

New Early Warning Tool for Dropout Prevention

The National High School Center recently released the Early Warning System Tool, an interactive resource that calculates if students, beginning in the ninth grade, are on track to graduate or at risk of dropping out based on available student-level indicators (such as attendance, course failures, and grade point average). The Early Warning System Guide provides information about factors that help predict the probability of students dropping out of high school, and offers guidance in building an early warning system.

National High School Center Hosts Second  Annual Summer Institute

The National High School Center held its second annual Summer Institute on June 18-20, 2008 in Washington, DC, and attracted more than 130 policymakers, practitioners, leading researchers, and experts on high school improvement from around the country. The theme of the conference was "Navigating the High School Improvement Landscape: States' Roles in Building Better High Schools." The conference program focused on examining systemic change for high school improvement, identifying the characteristics of high-performing high schools, reviewing state and district policies that support those characteristics, and developing strategies to promote better high school practices.

Speakers included Dr. Molly Howard, 2008 National Association of Secondary School Principals/Met Life High School Principal of the Year; Mr. Lewis Chappelear, 2008 California Teacher of the Year and Finalist for the 2008 National Teacher of the Year; Dr. Dean Fixsen of the University of South Florida and author of Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature; and Louis Danielson of AIR. Videos, PowerPoint presentations, and resources for many of the individual sessions are available on our Web site.

Updates to the National High School Center Web site

The National High School Center would like to announce a new section of our Web site (www.betterhighschools.org). The "Topics for High School Improvement" section offers research-supported tools and products, as well as listings of relevant research studies, to assist education consumers in locating credible and useful information on a variety of topics related to high school improvement. All of the resources and research available on the Web site have been vetted through a comprehensive review process to ensure their high quality.

Upcoming Conferences

The National High School Center wants to keep you informed of upcoming conferences and events pertinent to your work. The High School Events Calendar on our Web site lists national conferences, workshops, and dialogues sponsored by organizations around the country focused on high school improvement. If you are sponsoring a high school-related event, we encourage you to submit the event for posting on the Calendar through the online form on our Web site.

About Us

The National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), in collaboration with its partners, strives to provide the most up-to-date, accessible information on breakthroughs in high school improvement, vetted best practices, hands on technical assistance to the Regional Comprehensive Centers, and an easy-to-use navigation of the latest research on creating and maintaining excellent high schools. The National High School Center does not endorse any interventions nor does it conduct field studies. The National High School Center Web site is available at www.betterhighschools.org.

The National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research in collaboration with
Learning Point Associates, MDRC, the National Center for Educational Achievement and WestEd.
1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW | Washington, DC, 20007 | Phone: 1-800-634-0503 | Fax: 202-403-5875
TTY: 1-800-634-0752
Email:helpfor@betterhighschools.org | www.betterhighschools.org