Impacts of dropout prevention programs: Final report.
Dynarski, M., Gleason, P., Rangarajan, A., & Wood, R. G. (1998). Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (Sweetwater Twelve Together Program).
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examining466Students, grade7
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: September 2017
- Practice Guide (findings for Dropout Prevention)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Did not drop out (%) |
Dropout Prevention vs. Business as usual |
2 Years |
Full sample (Cohorts 1 and 2);
|
93.00 |
92.00 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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California
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in 9 public middle schools in the Sweetwater Union school district of Chula Vista, California.
Study sample
The average age in both groups was 14 years old. The study reports demographics for the combined Cohort 1 & 2 baseline sample, which is not the same as the analytic sample because of attrition. For intervention students: 45% were male; 9% African-American, 15% White, 53% Latino, and 24% Other; 15% were in households that received public assistance; 19% were in households that speak a language other than English at home. For comparison students: 34% were male; 9% African-American, 15% White, 47% Latino, and 29% Other; 14% were in households that received public assistance; 20% were in households that speak a language other than English at home.
Intervention Group
Students participated in the Sweetwater/Chula Vista Twelve Together program, which offered weekly meetings facilitated by adult volunteers, counseling, attendance monitoring, and an annual weekend retreat. The target population for the intervention was seventh graders with high absenteeism, low grades, or disciplinary problems. The program focused on building self-esteem, academic skills, or leadership skills. During the first follow-up year, 70% of the intervention group received counseling, 32% of the intervention group attended special classes in mathematics, English, or other subjects, and 23% of the intervention group was referred to a social service agency for counseling, health needs, or financial assistance. Students were offered admittance to the Sweetwater Twelve Together program as part of the intervention group, but may have enrolled elsewhere.
Comparison Group
Students participated in regular classes and activities. The comparison condition was described as attending the regular middle school without the leadership program once a week or the comparison students could attend other programs available in the local area. 64% of the comparison group received counseling, 41% of the comparison group attended special classes in English, math, or other subjects. About one-fifth of the comparison group was referred to a social service agency for counseling, health needs, or financial assistance. Students were not offered admittance to the Sweetwater Twelve Together program, but they could enroll in other local programs and schools.
Support for implementation
Not reported.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).