3:10 p.m., July 28, 2009----Joan Buttram, director, and Jonathon Rubright, graduate research assistant, of the Delaware Education Research and Development Center (DERDC) presented findings of their study, Policies and Practices of Successful Delaware High Schools, at the July 16 meeting of the Delaware State Board of Education at the Townsend Building in Dover, Del.

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The investigation examined three Delaware high schools that outperformed other high schools with similar student demographic profiles. Buttram, Rubright, and Leslie Cooksy, also of DERDC, sought to find the policies and practices that these Delaware high schools use to promote achievement and improve graduation rates.

This research was similar to earlier DERDC reports by Buttram that identified successful elementary schools in Delaware and determined what actions they were taking that contributed to their success.

The researchers focused on policies and practices aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at high school freshmen. This focus was selected because previous studies have shown that ninth grade is a critical turning point for adolescent students and because almost half of Delaware students drop out if they do not successfully complete ninth grade.

The researchers found that the high schools employed different combinations of policies and practices, including transition programs to orient incoming ninth grade students, academies to organize ninth grade students into smaller groups, extra instructional time to support students not making satisfactory academic progress, afterschool instructional help for all students needing extra help, mentoring, and twilight programs for students missing a small number of credits to graduate.

The study was supported by funding from the Delaware State Board of Education.

DERDC, based in the University of Delaware's College of Education and Public Policy, provides services in educational research, evaluation development and policy analysis.