Effects of accelerated middle schools on dropping out varied by site: significant in Michigan, substantively important but not significant in Georgia, and null in New Jersey¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · causal r2–r3 · q3 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In the Michigan RCT, 2% of accelerated middle school students had dropped out two years after entering, compared with 9% of control students, a statistically significant difference. → What Works Clearinghouse 2008 q3 i1 In the Georgia RCT, dropout was lower for accelerated middle school students (6% vs 14%), not statistically significant but substantively important by WWC standards (an effect size greater than 0.25). → What Works Clearinghouse 2008 (2) q3 i? In the New Jersey RCT, accelerated middle schools had no statistically significant or substantively important effect on dropping out. → What Works Clearinghouse 2008 (3)

Evidence¶

What Works Clearinghouse 2008¶

What Works Clearinghouse. (2008). WWC Intervention Report: Accelerated Middle Schools. U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/11

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Michigan RCT (172 applicants for the 1992/93 and 1993/94 school years), which met WWC standards with reservations due to differential attrition. Dropout at two years was 2% versus 9%, reported as statistically significant; no effect size is printed, so impact is null.

"In the Michigan study 2% of accelerated middle school students had dropped out of school two years after entering the program, compared with 9% of control-group students, a statistically significant difference."

What Works Clearinghouse 2008 (2)¶

What Works Clearinghouse. (2008). WWC Intervention Report: Accelerated Middle Schools. U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/11

q3 · i1 · causal · r2

Georgia RCT (140 applicants for 1993/94), meeting WWC standards with reservations due to differential attrition. Dropout was 6% versus 14%; the report states the difference was "not statistically significant" but substantively important, with "an effect size greater than 0.25".

"The Georgia study also found a lower dropout rate among accelerated middle school students—6% compared with 14% in the control group—a difference that was not statistically significant but that is considered substantively important by WWC standards (an effect size greater than 0.25)."

What Works Clearinghouse 2008 (3)¶

What Works Clearinghouse. (2008). WWC Intervention Report: Accelerated Middle Schools. U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/11

q3 · i? · causal · r3

New Jersey RCT (535 applicants), the study meeting WWC evidence standards without reservations, found no statistically significant or substantively important effect on dropping out; equivalence was not tested and no effect size is printed.

"The New Jersey study found accelerated middle schools had no statistically significant or substantively important effect on dropping out."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Accelerated middle schools show potentially positive effects on staying in school, with an average improvement index of +18 percentile points — a broader claim this one bears on
• Twelve Together has potentially positive effects on staying in school, based on a lower (non-significant) dropout rate than control — related
• Accelerated middle schools show positive effects on progressing in school, with an average improvement index of +35 percentile points — related