Combining Academic and Vocational Courses in an Integrated Program to Reduce High School Dropout Rates: Second-Year Results From Replications of the California Peninsula Academies

Abstract

This paper reports results from the first two years of an effort in 10 high schools to replicate the California Peninsula Academies. The Academy model combines the core academic curriculum with technical instruction in a particular occupational field. Local employers representing that field participate in various ways. The program is intended to improve school performance of students who would otherwise be likely to drop out. Evidence presented here indicates that Academy students generally have compiled better grades and more course credits than students in comparison groups at the same high schools. At three sites in particular, Academy students have consistently out-performed comparison groups in the first two years.

Promoting successful school completion: Critical conceptual and methodological guidelines.

“…Hess (1998) reported that the majority of dropout intervention research was judged as low in methodological quality. In response to this concern and our desire to advance the degree to which school completion interventions are theoretically driven and scientifically based, we: (a) describe criteria specified by Crane (1998a), (b) apply the criteria to 15 intervention studies (Allen, Philliber, & Hoggson, 1990; Baker & Sansone, 1990; Catteral, 1987; Comiskey, 1994; Curiel, Rosenthal, & Richek, 1986; Dugger & Dugger, 1998; Einolf, 1995; Grannis, 1994; Jones, 1992; Mayer, Mitchell, & Clementi, 1993; Pearson & Banerji, 1993; Reyes & Jason, 1991; Sinclair et al, 1998; Stern, Dayton, Paik, Weisberg, & Evans, 1988; Vitaro, Brendgen, & Tremblay, 1999) to provide a baseline for intervention research, and (c) illustrate the use of the criteria with one intervention study.…”

“…A study by Stern and his colleagues (1988) was selected from the subset of 15 intervention studies to explicate Crane’s criteria as well as conceptual and methodological considerations for future intervention research. This study was selected because it touched on the highest number of criteria; it met 6 of the 13 and addressed an additional 2 criteria related to effect size (overall subset X = 3; range = 1–8).…”

Step to College

“…PACE evaluated the first 10 State Partnership Academies in California (Stern, Raby, and Dayton 1992;Stern et al 1988Stern et al , 1989Dayton et al 1992), with data collected on academy students and matched groups of similar nonacademy students. 5 The majority of statistical significance tests between the groups'outcomes favored the academy students (61%).…”