Research and Evaluation


Background

For the past twenty years, the Ed Fund has been committed to independent research throughout the Philadelphia region to improve educational outcomes for at-risk populations. Ranging from the formative evaluation of educational programs to broad-scale policy research, Ed Fund staff identify critical research issues, develop ways to address these issues, and help chart new directions for more effective schools and quality public education for children and young adults.

Early Warning Indicators - Dropout Prevention

In 2004, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, the Philadelphia Education Fund began a research project dedicated to addressing the following: How early in the middle grades (g. 6-8) can students at high risk for falling off the graduation track be identified?

The study followed Philadelphia public school students who were enrolled in the 6th grade in 1996-97 through to 2003-04 (one year beyond on-time graduation). We found in the data four powerful predictors of students who would fall off track to graduation. These sixth graders were identified who:

A sixth grader with
any of the four indicators
has only a
10 - 20% chance
of graduating
with his/her peers

More information is available in this presentation. We are also using this research as the basis for our project with two Philadlephia schools to create a comprehensive dropout prevention model.
Keeping Middle Grades Students On-Track to Graduation

The Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS)

The Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS) is a comprehensive database following a cohort of students in the School District of Philadelphia from the close of their 8th grade year to three years past on-time graduation.

The data addresses both in- and out-of-school challenges, including student and parent perceptions of academic challenge and climate, engagement in risk-taking behavior and the transition to 9th grade. PELS helps us to distinguish the effects of "compound disadvantage" and link student outcomes of educational programs to interventions. Critical to our national effort to promote in-school and post-secondary success in urban youth, PELS data have policy implications vital to laying the groundwork for adulthood and will help drive quality education funding and initiatives for years to come.

 

To learn more about this study and others, please contact Liza Herzog at lherzog@philaedfund.org or 215-665-1400 ext. 3323



Research/Publications

On the Front Lines of Schools, Perspectives of Teachers and Principals on the High School Dropout Problem; A Report by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the AT&T Foundation and the America’s Promise Alliance
By John M. Bridgeland, John J. DiIulio, Jr. and Robert Balfanz
AT&T Foundation
6/1/2009

Putting Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Path: A Policy and Practice brief
 By Robert Balfanz Presented to the National Middle School Association
5/29/2009

Preventing Student Disengagement and Keeping Students on the Graduation Path in Urban Middle-Grades Schools: Early Identification and Effective Interventions
Educational Psychologist Issue 42, 2007, co-authored by the Ed Fund's Liza Herzog

3-31 Flyer





Contact Information

Liza Herzog - Bio
Senior Research Associate

lherzog@philaedfund.org
215-665-1400 ext. 3323




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