Success Story: Texas

Texas has pursued a comprehensive dropout prevention and recovery agenda, using early warning data to trigger significant reforms and investments in high-need students and schools. Early evidence suggests that these efforts are having a positive impact:

·         High School Drop Out Declined. The 9^th grade longitudinal dropout rate went from 10.5 percent for the class of 2008 to 9.4 percent for the class of 2009, and the actual number of dropouts declined by more than 2,500.

·         High School Graduation Improved. Out of 308,427 students in the class of 2009, 80.6 percent graduated, 8.6 percent continued in high school the year following their anticipated graduation, and 1.4 percent received GEDs.

·         Drop Out Recovery is Working. In less than 2 years, almost 700 previous dropouts have completed the requirements for graduation through innovative recovery strategies.

Reform Efforts:  

·         In 2003, Texas passed legislation on early college high schools, adopting the National Center for Education Statistics definition of a dropout. In 2004, the Texas Education Agenda (TEA) also added the 9^th to 12^th grade longitudinal completion rate, and the 7^th to 8^th grade annual rate as indicators in the accountability system.

·         Texas launched the Texas High School Project (THSP) a public-private initiative committed to increasing graduation and college enrollment rates. Specifically, THSP’s goals are to i ncrease high school graduation rates, promote a “college-going” culture and increase college readiness on every campus, build statewide capacity for supporting high school redesign and reform and create systemic changes that ensure long-term, sustainable high school improvement. Since its launch, THSP has awarded $261 million in grants to more than 500 high-need school districts for:

o    New school models, such as Early College High Schools

o    Student-centered programs, such as Advanced Placement Strategies, that increase academic opportunity and reward student achievement

o    Leadership innovations for principals and teachers

o    Implementing the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Initiative (T-STEM)

Early evaluation results of THSP show that the program is positively impacting student achievement. A comprehensive long-term evaluation is now underway that will guide continuous improvement of programs and provide policymakers with concrete data to inform future investment decisions.

·         In 2006, the state passed legislation creating the high school allotment to provide $275 in additional funding per student for all districts and charter schools to implement programs and practices that help increase students’ college and career readiness ($336 million in FY 2010). The legislation also called for the development of College and Career Readiness Standards, established a College Credit Program enabling high school students to earn a minimum of 12 hours of college credit.  It also required all students to graduate with four years of math, science, English and social studies, and it mandated that districts and charter schools with high dropout rates to develop and submit dropout plans for TEA approval specifying how they intended to use targeted funds.

·          In 2007, Texas passed an omnibus dropout prevention law that provided additional funding for THSP, established the High School Completion and Success Council, authorized the Dropout Recovery Pilot Program and established the Collaborative Dropout Reduction Pilot  to support local partnerships to reduce dropouts. The law also provided funding for transition programs, including Intensive Summer Programs for students in high-poverty, high dropout rate districts, and the Ninth Grade Transition Program. The law directed TEA to contract with an outside entity to do a study of best practices in dropout prevention report recommendations to the legislature.

·         The state also authorized public school funding for students up to age 26 to receive a high school diploma and replaced the statewide standardized test in 9^th through 12^th grade with end-of-course exams. Students in the 9th grade class of 2011-2012 will be the first students required to pass end-of-course exams to meet graduation requirements.

·         In 2009, Texas passed legislation adding postsecondary readiness as a factor in determining school accountability and accreditation ratings.

·         In 2010, the state allocated approximately $250 million in combined state and federal funding for dropout prevention and recovery efforts.