Roy L. Johnson, M.A.

Counting Dropouts – Podcast Episode 62 | Classnotes Podcast 62

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Classnotes Podcast (November 24, 2009) Schools are consistently losing one-third of our high school students. IDRA has been releasing an attrition study for Texas each year for 24 years revealing trends that mirror the nation. Attrition rates are an indicator of a school’s holding power, or the ability to keep students enrolled in school and learning until they graduate. Roy L. Johnson, M.S., director of Support Services at IDRA and author of the study for a number of years, discusses why counting dropouts is important and how the data can be used to strengthen school holding power. Roy is interviewed by Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed., director of the IDRA Texas Parent Information and Resource Center.

Show length: 19:02.

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Resources

Latest statewide and county level attrition study
http://www.idra.org/images/stories/IDRA_Attrition_Study_2010.pdf

Forecast analysis (2009)
http://www.idra.org/images/stories/Will_Attrition_Rate_Get_to_Zero.pdf

Look up attrition rates your Texas county
http://24.227.141.91/dropout/selectatt.php/

Quality Schools Action Framework
http://www.idra.org/change-model/quality-schools-action-framework/

School Holding Power Policy Principles
http://www.idra.org/education_policy/principles-for-policy-action/

Ideas and Strategies for Action
http://www.idra.org/education_policy/communities-in-action/

Speech with recommendations, “Graduation for All – A Framework for Policy and Action”
http://www.idra.org/resource-center/graduation-for-all-a-framework-for-policy-and-action/

OurSchool portal (high school level information)
http://www.idra.org/portal/index.php

Classnotes Podcast: “Action for School Change”
http://www.idra.org/resource_center_categories/classnotes-podcast/

Graduation for All E-letter (English/Spanish)
http://www.idra.org/education_policy/graduation-e-letter/

Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.idra.org/resource-center/frequently-asked-questions/

Delicious, IDRA related articles and studies.
http://del.icio.us/IDRA

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Show Notes

  • Roy offers an overview of IDRA’s latest attrition study and explains its significance for the state of Texas, its citizens, and its schools.

  • Roy outlines the methodology used in the study.

  • Aurelio asks Roy how the dropout rates in Texas schools compare with others across the nation, including in racial, ethnic and gender subgroups.

  • Roy talks about the national implications of high dropout rates, particularly among students of color.

  • Roy and Aurelio discuss shifting the emphasis of dropout rates away from the students and onto the schools.

  • Roy explains why IDRA's attrition rate and the Texas Education Agency's dropout rate have diverged over time.

  • Roy says that schools and communities must acknowledge that high dropout rates are a "systemic problem," and that the consequences for society are steep.

  • Roy argues that schools should move to a Graduation for All model.

  • Roy points to IDRA’s School Holding Power Portal as a valuable resource for the community.