Utilizing the Bowers and Sprott Dropout Indicator in a Single High School Setting

• In Event: 81.032 - MTCC Roundtable Session 37
  In Roundtable Session: 81.032-1 - Modeling the Effects of Organizational Factors on Student and Educator Outcomes

Abstract

This study addresses the dropout issue in a suburban high school by utilizing student-level data and a replication of the Bowers-Sprott (2012) growth mixture modeling study of dropout predictors with GPA data. Following this model, we identify students into two groups, push out and pull in, based on where they fell on the trajectory of their first three semester’s GPA. After identifying these two groups of students for our cohorts, we provide a descriptive summary of their characteristics. Also, we define a social network based on the teachers the students had during their high school experience.

Authors

• Tracy Davis, Lehigh University

• Robert Jeffery Steckel, Northampton School District

• Kimberly Levin, Northampton Area School District

• Craig Dennis Hochbein, Lehigh University