This blog highlights a REL Central study on which student characteristics and experiences were associated with grade 9 math success in Denver Public Schools.
The transition from middle school to high school is an exciting time for many students, as they get to meet new people, try more school activities, and take different types of classes. But this period of transition also aligns with new challenges that can influence how well students adapt to their new school environments and their relationship with school. These changes can be stressful and can disrupt students' academic performance both entering and throughout high school. Denver Public Schools (DPS) in Colorado recognized the need to support students through more successful high school transitions, particularly in an academic area shown to predict high school achievement and graduation across the nation and in DPS: grade 9 math. Receiving a passing grade in a student’s primary grade 9 math class is one indicator of a successful high school transition. But in 2023, nearly one in five DPS students did not pass their grade 9 math course, and DPS leaders shared that math success decreased between grades 8 and 9.
A collaborative partnership to explore math success
Leaders at DPS turned to REL Central for research support to help the district understand which student characteristics and experiences were associated with grade 9 math success.
Shaping the research
DPS and REL Central collaborated to identify the district’s primary research goals and establish research questions to support them. REL Central then designed a study to develop usable evidence to inform DPS’s future policy, program, and practice efforts to improve grade 9 math success in ways that are tailored to the district’s specific needs.
Understanding the district-specific data
This partnership helped REL Central better understand the rich data that DPS had available and make informed decisions about how to consistently interpret those data across schools that used different data collection methods or measures. Because DPS schools manage their grading and credit systems slightly differently, REL Central relied on DPS’s input on how its schools work in practice to understand how to define “success” in grade 9 math no matter which school a student attended.
Regular conversation
The REL Central team connected with representatives from the DPS research and math offices to make sure the study was well-rounded and responsive to their information needs. These offices also shared input on measures and data they gathered from their district colleagues to reflect staff experience in the study design. While the REL Central team initially planned to examine grade 9 standardized test scores to establish a uniform point of comparison across students, DPS staff shared that course grades were more useful to them in practice. Because course evaluation and standardized tests may capture different types of knowledge and require different types of skills from students and courses may define success in different ways, the REL Central team decided to examine both outcomes in the study.
This close collaboration resulted in a focused research study that identified factors that were strongly associated with grade 9 math success for DPS students. REL Central briefed DPS leadership on key findings and implications of the study, which district leaders found useful for expanding their understanding of successful high school transitions and strengthening their ability to use research to guide decision making.
What factors are associated with being successful in grade 9 math?
- Having higher attendance rates in middle school. When students are present in middle school, they receive more instruction, which might help them grow foundational math skills to build upon in high school. Attendance may also reflect greater motivation to succeed in school, which might drive better course performance.
- Meeting the proficiency benchmark on the middle school English language arts standardized exam. The types of reading and writing skills that the language arts exam assesses may be transferrable to grade 9 math success. Research shows that language, reading, and writing skills are important to developing math skills, such as solving word or applied problems or using reasoning.
- Attending a high school with above-average Hispanic enrollment. Hispanic students represented the largest student group in this DPS study, and this finding is consistent with the idea that when peers have a similar background, they develop stronger friendships and social supports during adolescence which may, in turn, improve academic performance.
What factors are associated with being unsuccessful in grade 9 math?
- Receiving a failing grade in any middle school math course. These associations suggest that academic habits and learning in middle school could shape success in later courses.
- Attending a high school with above-average enrollment of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program. Students attending high-poverty schools tend to have lower achievement, and approximately two-thirds of DPS students were eligible for the NSLP during the study period.
- Receiving any suspension in middle school. When students are suspended, they receive less instruction during their time out of the classroom, which could reduce success in later math courses.
Future areas of exploration for DPS and other districts
Insights from this study can help DPS district leaders, educators, and families identify aspects of their middle and high school education policies and practices they want to explore to better support student success in math before and during the transition to high school. For example, since middle school attendance was associated with success in grade 9 math, DPS could consider exploring approaches that might influence attendance. DPS might also consider developing an early warning system to identify students for additional supports based on middle school factors that are associated with grade 9 math success.
These findings may also be useful for other districts working to support middle to high school transitions and improve grade 9 math outcomes, helping them better understand which student and school factors might be associated with math success in their context. Read the full study, study snapshot, and infographic for a closer look at the factors associated with grade 9 math success and implications for school districts that are interested in successful middle school to high school transitions.
