STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING GRADUATION RATES By Eric Becoats

Introduction Currently serving as assistant superintendent of The

School District of Philadelphia, Eric Becoats has improved retention and student achievement in several school districts over the course of his career. As superintendent of the Durham Public Schools, Eric Becoats increased the four-year graduation rate to 80 percent from 69.8 percent and the five-year graduation rate from 73.9 percent to 79.8 percent.

Although the reasons for student dropout rates are nearly as diverse as the students themselves, researchers have identified a number of overall strategies that can help to prevent dropout.

Improving Graduation Rates Several such strategies relate to multistage and multiyear

intervention, in which schools focus on preparing students for high school achievement during the middle grade years. Success in ninth grade has been proven to be a key marker for gradation rates, as students who fail their freshman year in high school have only a 50 percent chance of graduation. To avoid this outcome, schools must prepare students for high school success and provide adequate support during the eighth-to-ninth-grade transition.

A number of key strategies also address the need for increased accountability among students as well as school systems. School accountability includes assessing methods of instruction for relevance and viability, while also looking closely at expectations.

Conclusion If a school does not expect students to do well, that

prophecy is likely to be self-fulfilling.

Meanwhile, schools that hold themselves to high standards must also do the same with their students. Experts suggest that all students should have access to rigorous course work and should have expectations set that they achieve high academic standards. Availability of tutoring and other remedial study methods can help students feel supported as they work toward these expectations, though mastery remains an important fundamental goal.