tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post2884042214061565474..comments2009-11-15T17:31:54.047-05:00Jim Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04462754705431590571ontogenyx@mac.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post-39621915411490379692009-11-15T15:28:28.866-05:002009-11-15T15:28:28.866-05:00Hi Jim -- One thing that the study on KIPP attrition that you cite did not research was the ethnic breakout of the students who &quot;left.&quot; But I&#39;ve done some of that (as an unpaid volunteer advocate for public education). So here is some critical additional information!<br /><br />This is research that I did in February 2007 on KIPP Bridge Academy in Oakland, Calif.:<br />**<br />Here are the figures for KIPP Bridge&#39;s class that finished 8th grade in 2006:<br />Total enrollment, all demographics:<br />87 students started 5th grade in 02-03;<br />60 continued to 6th grade in 03-04;<br />50 continued to 7th grade in 04-05;<br />36 continued to 8th grade in 05-06.<br /><br />IMPORTANT NOTE: Those are fall statistics, so we don&#39;t know how many actually finished 8th grade and were promoted to high school.<br />Similar pattern for the class that is to finish 8th grade in 2007:<br />82 started 5th grade in 03-04;<br />78 continued to 6th grade in 04-05;<br />47 continued to 7th grade in 05-06;<br />number who finished 8th grade unknown.<br /><br />African-American boys:<br />35 started 5th grade in 02-03;<br />19 continued to 6th grade in 03-04;<br />15 continued to 7th grade in 04-05;<br />8 continued to 8th grade in 05-06.<br />Again, those are fall figures, so we don&#39;t know how many finished 8th grade and were promoted to high school. This means 77% of the African-American boys who started at this KIPP school either left or were retained to repeat a grade (this is unknowable unless KIPP chooses to tell us) by the FALL of 8th grade. We also don&#39;t know, unless KIPP chooses to tell us, how many of those eight finished 8th grade and went on to high school.<br /><br />Additional note from Caroline: I looked at figures for all then-nine California KIPP schools when I did that research. Six of them showed that same clear pattern -- high attrition, but far higher for the most academically challenged demographic subgroup -- either African-American boys or Latino boys. The SRI study that you cite was done AFTER I did my research, and confirms it, except that as I say, that study didn&#39;t break out the attrition by ethnicity.carolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127336930949752636noreply@blogger.com