Full Report - Center for Collaborative Education

In Sum
328 dropped out by SY2009, amounting to a dropout rate of 23.2% for the Grade 9 cohort.
Of those who dropped out 9.1% left school due to employment, 1.3% had been incarcerated,
1.3% had entered the military, 2.6% had entered the Job Corps and 6.5% left for
non-diploma-granting adult education programs. The remaining 76.7% were students whose
plans or location were unknown.
Akin to the dropouts are those students who “age-out” of high school without graduating,
that is, those students who reach 21-22 years of age and are forced to leave the schools without
a diploma. These students amounted to 4.6% of the cohort.
Figure 7. SY2009 MEPA Outcomes of a Grade 9 Cohort of 328 Students Scoring at MEPA Level 1 in SY2006.
L5 L4 L3 L2 L1
5.2
%
9.1% 16.8%
3.0
%
2.1
%
1.2%
FLEP
ed
25.3%
Transfers
In comparing the trajectories of students at different grade levels, we look at the proportion
of students who attained MEPA Level 4 or 5, were FLEPed or, in the case of high school
students, had graduated from the Boston Public Schools. This brief look at the trajectories of
students at different grade levels shows that elementary students were the most advantaged
since 25.7% progressed from MEPA Level 1 to Level 4 or 5 in the four years, with the assumption
that this level of performance reflected the attainment of academic English proficiency.
Among middle school students only 12.3% had reached that high bar. Among high school
students, 18.5% had been “FLEPed,” had attained a MEPA performance level of 4 or 5 or had
graduated.
The three-year trajectories show that their experience is similar to that reflected in the research.
It underscores that language acquisition takes time, a lot more time than most people
without knowledge of the dynamics of second language acquisition predict. There is no
evidence in prior research or in the data analyzed in this study that children who are English
learners can be “educated through Sheltered English Immersion during a temporary transition
period not normally intended to exceed one school year” (Chapter 386 of the Acts of 2002,
p. 3). In addition, this analysis showed that the percentage of students who dropped out of
school was substantial at every grade level: 23.2% of the Grade 9 cohort had dropped out
by SY2009 as had 3.4% of the middle school cohort. Most disturbing was that 3.7% of the
Grade 3 cohort had abandoned schooling by the time they reached Grade 6.
Previous chapters have highlighted the importance
of the English proficiency of LEP students in their
distribution across programs and schools. In this
one, after the presentation of the demographic
characteristics and program participation of students
at different levels of English proficiency, we
focused on the result of two analyses: an assessment
of the level of proficiency required of students
3.0%
Graduated
Not Tested (63.7%)
4.6%
Aged out,
did not
graduate
6.4%
Enrolled
,not
tested
23.2%
Dropped out
in order to pass the MCAS and the assessment of
the progression through MEPA performance levels
of 3 cohorts of LEP students. In regard to the
characteristics of the students at different levels of
proficiency, we found:
• In SY2009, the majority of LEP students in
Boston scored in the middle levels of proficiency,
Levels 3 and 4 (61.7%) on MEPA.
• Males and mobile students were over-represent-
46 Improving Educational Outcomes of English Language Learners in Schools and Programs in Boston Public Schools