ERIC Number: ED595893
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jan
Pages: 11
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Issue Brief: Student Support Teams
Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, US Department of Education
In 2014-15, the high school graduation rate reached a record high of 83 percent (U.S. Department of Education 2016). Despite the gains, over half a million students still drop out of high school each year (U.S. Department of Education 2015). High schools have adopted various strategies designed to keep students who are at risk of not graduating in school and on track for earning the credits required to graduate. "At-risk" students are defined as those failing to achieve basic proficiency in key subjects or exhibiting behaviors that can lead to failure and/or dropping out of school. Dropout prevention strategies are diverse; they vary in type of program, services offered, frequency, intensity, and duration of contact with target students. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) sponsored the National Survey on High School Strategies Designed to Help At-Risk Students Graduate (HSS), which aimed to provide descriptive information on the prevalence and characteristics of dropout prevention strategies for at-risk students. The survey collected data in the 2014-15 school year from a nationally representative sample of 2,142 public high schools that focused on 13 specific high school improvement strategies identified by a panel of external experts and senior Department officials. This brief describes the prevalence of student support teams as a high school dropout prevention strategy. This brief does not measure the effectiveness of the strategy but instead describes the kinds of schools that offer SSTs and the different approaches to SST implementation. This analysis included an examination of four school characteristics: (1) size, (2) poverty, (3) locale, and (4) graduation rate. Only statistically significant differences within a school characteristic (at p < 0.05) are discussed.
Descriptors: Teamwork, At Risk Students, High School Students, Dropout Prevention, Academic Persistence, School Holding Power, Incidence, Public Schools, Student Personnel Services, School Size, Poverty, Geographic Location, Graduation Rate, Institutional Characteristics, Academic Support Services, Progress Monitoring, Intervention
Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, US Department of Education. Available from: ED Pubs. Education Publications Center, US Department of Education, NTIS, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, VA 22304. Tel: 877-433-7827; Fax: 703-605-6794; e-mail
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development (ED), Policy and Program Studies Service
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A