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Dropout
Overview1
Program Description2
Middle College High Schools are alternative high schools located on college campuses that aim to help at-risk students complete high school and encourage them to attend college. The four-year program offers a project-centered, interdisciplinary curriculum with an emphasis on team teaching, individualized attention, and the development of critical thinking skills. Students are also offered support services, including specialized counseling, peer support, and career experience opportunities. In recent years, some Middle College High Schools have converted to the Early College High School model, which offers students a five-year, accelerated course of study during which they can earn an associate degree or two years of college credits, in addition to a high school diploma. This review focuses only on the four-year Middle College High School model.
Research
One study of Middle College High School meets What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. This randomized controlled trial included 394 students in the Seattle Public Schools who were assigned to either an intervention group that was offered admission to the alternative high school or a control group that was not offered admission. Control group students were free to participate in other regular and alternative high schools operated by the school district, as well as General Educational Development (GED) programs. Most control group students participated in one of these other education options.3
Based on this study, the WWC considers the extent of evidence for Middle College High School to be small for both the staying in school and the completing school domains. No studies that meet WWC evidence standards with or without reservations examined the effectiveness of Middle College High School in the progressing in school domain.
Effectiveness
Middle College High School was found to have no discernible effects on staying in school or completing school.
| Staying in school | Progressing in school | Completing school | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | No discernible effects | na | No discernible effects |
| Improvement index4 | Average: –3 percentile points | na | Average: +2 percentile points |
| na = not applicable | |||
2 The descriptive information for this program was obtained from a publicly-available source: the program’s website (http://www.mcnc.us, downloaded December 2008). The WWC requests developers to review the program description sections for accuracy from their perspective. Further verification of the accuracy of the descriptive information for this program is beyond the scope of this review.
3 The evidence presented in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
4 These numbers show the average of student-level improvement indices for all findings across the study.
