Getting Out: How High School Policies and Practices Shape Rigorous Course Withdrawal Options

• In Event: Policies, Practices, and Literature About College Access

Abstract

In college admissions, students’ academic choices and performance can shape their postsecondary prospects. While research on inequalities in rigorous course-taking focus on factors shaping students’ enrollment, students’ withdrawal processes are underexamined. Through semi-structured interviews with 33 school personnel in 31 schools, this qualitative study examined schools’ withdrawal policies and practices and how their uneven application can reproduce unequal opportunity structures. Using two frameworks that explain the actions of school personnel, preliminary findings demonstrate the discretion school personnel exercised when it came to course withdrawal decisions. Participants weighed both structural factors (e.g., scheduling policies) and their own philosophies regarding students’ commitments when making their decisions. Together, these findings illustrate students’ academic narratives depend on school personnel’s autonomy and perceptions.

Authors

• Kati Lebioda, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Davinia Mendoza Rodriguez-Wilhelm, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Awilda Rodriguez, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Nicole Wilson, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Reuben Cosme Kapp, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor