Online Algebra I credit recovery course offered the summer after ninth grade (Back on Track Study)¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

An online credit recovery version of Algebra I offered the summer after ninth grade, evaluated in the Back on Track Study against a standard face-to-face version in 17 Chicago Public Schools high schools. Students who failed Algebra I were randomly assigned to one of the two summer course formats, with 1,224 ninth graders enrolling in a second-semester Algebra I course for credit recovery. The study, funded by IES and conducted by AIR and the University of Chicago Consortium in partnership with CPS, tests whether online credit recovery promotes credit recovery more effectively than traditional summer classes.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Offered as a summer course option after students fail Algebra I, alongside a face-to-face comparison version.

Constraints¶

• The study took place in 17 CPS high schools in summer 2011 and summer 2012.

Target Learners¶

• Ninth graders who failed Algebra I and must recover the credit to earn a diploma

Target Learning Goals¶

• Algebra I credit recovery and mathematics course progression toward graduation

Claims¶

• Most students needing Algebra I credit recovery failed multiple ninth-grade courses and few were on track to graduate [+W]
• Students who fail Algebra I more often enter ninth grade with preexisting math and reading deficits, though many enter with average or higher achievement [+W]
• Students who fail Algebra I show far more signs of ninth-grade disengagement, including higher absenteeism and suspension rates [+W]
• Ninth graders who fail Algebra I are demographically similar to those who pass, but are more likely to be male and African American [+W]
• Before expanded options, only 13% of CPS freshmen who failed spring Algebra I recovered the credit over the summer [+W]

Related Elements¶

• Online Algebra I credit recovery course

Examples¶

• Design credit-recovery interventions to address broader academic deficits and engagement, not only algebra content

Key Sources¶

• 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