Overview¹

Talent Development High Schools is a school reform model for restructuring large high schools with persistent attendance and discipline problems, poor student achievement, and high dropout rates. The model includes both structural and curriculum reforms. It calls for schools to reorganize into small "learning communities"—including ninth-grade academies for first-year students and career academies for students in upper grades—to reduce student isolation and anonymity. It also emphasizes high academic standards and provides all students with a college-preparatory academic sequence.

Research

One study of Talent Development High Schools met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards with reservations. The quasi-experimental research design included multiple cohorts of entering ninth-grade students from 11 Philadelphia high schools—five Talent Development High Schools and six matched comparison schools. ¹ The WWC considers the extent of evidence for Talent Development High Schools to be small for progressing in school. No studies that met the WWC evidence standards with or without reservations addressed staying in school or completing school.

Effectiveness

Talent Development High Schools was found to have potentially positive effects on progressing in school.