Study: 85484

Practice Guide

Review Details

Reviewed: September 2017

At least one finding shows moderate evidence of effectiveness

At least one statistically significant positive finding

Meets WWC standards with reservations

For:

Practice Guide (findings for Dropout Prevention)

Using:

Rating:

Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with high attrition, but the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.

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

Graduating school outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index	Evidence tier
4-year high school graduation rate	Dropout Prevention vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample, Class of 2005; 3,629 students	N/A	56.60	Yes	4

Progressing in school outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index	Evidence tier
Total credits earned at end of year 4	Dropout Prevention vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample, Class of 2005; 3,629 students	20.73	19.90	Yes	4

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.

6% English language learners
Female: 57%
Male: 43%
Urban
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Pennsylvania

Race
Asian		5%
Black		69%
Other or unknown		1%
White		14%

Ethnicity
Hispanic		12%

Study Details

Setting

This study involved three cohorts of public school students in Philadelphia, PA. The cohorts were classified by the year in which they would have completed high school with an on-time graduation: Classes of 2003, 2004, and 2005. The sample was comprised of eighth graders who had applied to and were eligible to enroll in one of five Career and Technical Education high schools in the ninth grade from 1999 through 2001. All included students eventually enrolled in a public school in Philadelphia for the ninth grade.

Study sample

For the Class of 2005, approximately 70% of the students were black, nearly 60% were female, and approximately 20% had special education status.

Intervention Group

The intervention is attendance at one of five Career and Technical Education schools. These schools served students in 9th to 12th grade and provided both traditional and career-related educational coursework, where the career courses focused on preparation for work in designated occupations. Four of these schools focused the career coursework on locally in demand fields, such as auto mechanic and child care, while the fifth focused on agriculture and animal care.

Comparison Group

Students starting at a traditional public high school for 9th grade were considered for the comparison group. Although these schools may have had courses that could be classified as career focused, the schools were not career-focused and courses were not designed to prepare students for an occupation.

Support for implementation

Details on implementation support are not provided.

Academic Impacts of Career and Technical Schools