Course Performance
Course Performance
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The intervention area with the most straightforward connection to 9th Grade On-Track outcomes is course performance -- the core of “4 core, plus one more.” Ensuring that all students have the academic supports needed to achieve, and retain, on-track status is an important focus area for any school’s 9GOT strategy.
A variety of interventions are required to address the varying causes of course failures, from low attendance to academic skill gaps. By taking into account the reasons for course failures in their particular context, educators can partner with students, families, and staff to provide an appropriate system of supports.
It’s also important that 9th Grade Teams evaluate practices that can unnecessarily hinder student performance. Actions to consider include:
9th Grade Team Workload Planning to review when major assignments and exams are scheduled across subjects to avoid overwhelming students at the same time.
Structured Conversations on Equitable Grading Practices to review policies, such as a discussion of The Case Against the Zero.
Utilizing the Grade Impact Report to understand common areas where students are struggling and/or revisit assignment variation and weighted grading structures.
Featured Course Performance Interventions
Featured Course Performance Interventions
What?
How?
When?
Who?
Catch-Up and Re-Do Opportunities
Teachers can help students catch up on work by having a “make up work” station or system that is easy to access after absences.
Some also allow re-takes/test corrections and assignment re-do’s – which allows students to correct incorrect thinking before moving on.
Teachers can check for understanding, use formative assessments to inform instruction and reteach material or deliver small group instruction.
Some teachers have tried working on assignments as an entire class when many students are missing the work.
Teachers may want to give students extra time to complete assignments without penalty.
Start of School
✔Teachers
Homework Club
Schools can create an after-school or lunch-time Homework Club and invite students to complete homework during a designated time during or outside of school hours.
The goal is to improve academic performance by setting aside time for students to finish homework assignments or make up missed work in a controlled environment.
Start of School
✔Teachers
Supportive Parent or Guardian Conferences
A member of the 9th Grade Team can conference with every student, along with their parent/guardian, if they receive 1 or more F's on report card.
Some give the student(s) a survey about how they learn best and use it to inform one-on-one conversation or intervention conference.
Educators should demonstrate care and concern – “How can we support you?” versus “Why are you failing so much?” Ask: What do we all need to do for you to pass this class for the year?
Some send letters home with the student’s data and clear communication to parents and guardians. (e.g. “Our goal for all students is zero D’s or F’s. You had 2 F’s.”).
As-needed
✔Leaders
✔Teachers
✔Counselors
Mentoring Cards
This mentoring program at Kensington Health Sciences Academy provides students with a burst of continuous check-ins from a supportive adult in their school. The team has used this intervention to support a variety of student groups, including a group of students who are at risk of falling Off-Track (at least 1 D), and a group of students in September who had low performance in their prior/8th grade year.
Teachers sign up to mentor 1 or 2 students.
The Assistant Principal meets with the students as a group to introduce the 2-week program.
Students have a brief (5 min) daily check-in with their teacher and a longer academic converstaion once per week.
After the 2-week program is complete, celebrate students for completing cards. See an example of the cards and additional program details in this practice brief.
For the September student group, over 70% of the students were successfully On-Track by the end of Quarter 1.
As-needed
✔Leaders
✔Teachers
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Explore Further
Explore Further
The table below includes additional foundational content to learn more as your progress in your 9GOT practices.
Emerging is good for staff that are new to the 9th Grade On-Track work, and/or schools that are just starting to implement the 9th Grade On-Track tools and initiatives. Progressing is good for staff/schools who have basic knowledge of the materials and have implemented core components of the model but want to further the implementation. Accelerating is for schools that have successfully implemented many of the 9th Grade On-Track tools and initiatives and are looking for ways to advance the work even further.
Resource Link
Description
Level
Approach for addressing high teacher failure rates and ensuring that teachers are providing sufficient student support through using Teacher-Admin relationship building and documenting interventions with "Failure Prevention Forms."
Accelerating
A template to send letters to students at risk of failing. The template can be downloaded and set up as a mail merge with the Grades Monitoring Tool (GMT). Click here for step-by-step instructions. Created by PAI.
Accelerating
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