Students who fail Algebra I show far more signs of ninth-grade disengagement, including higher absenteeism and suspension rates¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r? · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? 56% of students who failed Algebra I missed 30 or more days of ninth grade versus 14% of students who passed, and students who failed were more than twice as likely to be suspended (46% vs. 16%). → Rickles 2016

Evidence¶

Rickles 2016¶

Rickles, J., Heppen, J., Taylor, S., Allensworth, E., Michelman, V., Sorensen, N., Walters, K., & Clements, P. (2016). Getting Back on Track: Who Needs to Recover Algebra Credit After Ninth Grade? (Research Brief 3). American Institutes for Research & University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://www.air.org/CreditRecovery

q2 · i? · associational · r?

Attendance analysis of ninth-grade absence data for 36,423 CPS students. On average students who failed Algebra I were absent 41 days versus 15 days, and the brief reports suspension rates of 46% versus 16% for students who failed versus passed.

"More than half (56%) of the students who failed Algebra I missed 30 or more days of school during their ninth-grade year, whereas less than one fifth (14%) of students who passed Algebra I missed that many days of school."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Most students needing Algebra I credit recovery failed multiple ninth-grade courses and few were on track to graduate — related
• Students who fail Algebra I more often enter ninth grade with preexisting math and reading deficits, though many enter with average or higher achievement — related
• Ninth graders who fail Algebra I are demographically similar to those who pass, but are more likely to be male and African American — related
• Before expanded options, only 13% of CPS freshmen who failed spring Algebra I recovered the credit over the summer — related
• Freshmen who miss more than two weeks of school per semester fail at least two classes on average, regardless of incoming test scores — related
• Ninth grade truancy rates do not differ much by gender, undercutting the hypothesis that gang activity primarily drives absenteeism — related
• Academic disengagement behaviors such as chronic absenteeism and course failures are related to test disengagement behaviors such as rapid guessing — related
• Students who have experienced three or more ACEs are more likely to experience chronic absenteeism, behavioral problems, and academic failure — related
• Chronically absent students show worse reading, test, suspension, dropout, and postsecondary outcomes — related
• Asthma linked to poor indoor air quality is a causal chain from facilities to chronic absenteeism and lower achievement — related
• A substantial share of dropouts show no clear signs of disengagement or major problems in the years before dropping out — related