The International Observatory on Academic Achievement - Documentary search

File number :
CS-DSC-18e

Bibliographic reference :
Rumberger, R.W., & Palardy, G.J. (2005). Test Scores, Dropout Rates, and Transfer Rates as Alternative Indicators of High School Performance. American Educational Research Journal, 42(1), 3-42.

Abstract :

Theoretical Context / Research Topics
The authors of this American article enquire into the relationships among various secondary school performance indicators such as student academic test scores, dropout rates, and transfer rates. They try to define the role and influence of schools with respect to these indicators. This study attempts to answer two main questions: 1) Are schools effective in promoting the improvement of academic test scores also effective in promoting the reduction of dropout and transfer rates? 2) What school characteristics best predict these alternative performance indicators? The above questions are analyzed from two viewpoints: 1) a common view of the school process in which the interaction of factors influence school dropout and disengagement, and 2) an alternative view according to which various factors can influence various consequences (engagement, achievement, performance, dropout).

Several factors are considered in this study. These include student characteristics (demographic, family, and academic factors), school structural characteristics (zone, size, type of control), school resource characteristics (financial, material, human), and school process characteristics (organization, administration, climate, educational practices).

Methodology
Spread across 92 secondary schools, the 14,199 subjects involved in this study took part in the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1998 (NELS:88). Four main variables were studied, namely learning growth, the proportion of grade 10 students who dropped out before grade 12, the proportion of grade 10 students who were transferred before grade 12, and the combined total for these two proportions. The data for this study was gathered in 1988, 1999, and 1992 using questionnaires and official school transcripts.

Results
Based on the indicators studied, namely academic test scores, dropout rates and transfer rates, the authors claim that schools are only partially effective in terms of the indicator used. For example, schools considered effective in promoting student learning is not necessarily effective in terms of reducing dropout and transfer rates. The authors conclude their study by pointing out that academic test scores are not sufficient to assess school performance and that alternative indicators (dropout and transfer rates) must be considered.

Links :
This journal is also available in electronic format.

Key Words :
Educational Institution Effectiveness, Dropout Rate, Transfer Rate, Academic Performance, Student Characteristics, School Characteristics, Achievement Indicators, Longitudinal Study, Quantitative Analysis, Secondary/High School

Monitored Countries :
United States