Citation
Roggow, Michael. “Improving student performance outcomes and graduation rates through institutional partnerships.” New Directions for Community Colleges 1.165 (2014): 25-35. Print.
Summary
The main point of the article is that institutional partnership not only improves performance of students, but also enhances graduation rates. Roggow holds that establishment of educational programs requires faculty and staff members to collaborate so that they can design feasible and effective educational programs that improve performance of students and increase their graduation rates (25). In supporting the main point, the author describes how John Jay College of Criminal Justice (JJC) and Bronx Community College (BCC) made their respective faculties and staff members to collaborate in designing a proposal that won them $3.7 million grant from the US Department of Education. Roggow explains that a feasible and effective proposal is the one that portrays commitment of institutional leaders to partner in addressing challenges that influence performance of students and institutions (26). The aim of the proposal was to improve academic performance of Hispanic students, who are not native speakers of English, by enabling high school leavers to obtain their associate degrees from BCC, and thereafter, earn baccalaureate degrees from JCC in criminal justice.
BCC and JJC made a policy that requires high school graduates, who do not meet academic requirements for admission into baccalaureate degree should first earn associate degrees from BCC and City University of New York (CUNY). The implementation of the policy attracted many students, who managed to graduate successfully despite their academic backgrounds because BCC and CUNY handled mathematics and writing skills commendably (Roggow 25). In this view, collaborative efforts and funds enabled BCC, JJC, and CUNY to improve academic performance and graduation rates of Hispanics. The grant made significant changes because it enabled the faculty and staff members to partner in the provision of quality education, which resulted in increased student performance, improved retention, and enhanced graduation rates. Therefore, the article underscores the essence of faculty and staff partnership in improving performance, retention, and graduation rates of students.
Key Quotations
In support of the argument that increasing education difficulty does not necessarily extend graduation duration, I would like to highlight three key quotations. The first quotation is that, “establishing academic and student service programs at an institution of higher learning requires buy-in and collaboration on the part of faculty and staff” (Roggow 25). The second proposal is that, “in 2009, faculty and staff from various academic departments at BCC and JJC worked together to design and secure the $3.7 million ED grant” (Roggow 26). The third quotation is that the grant “improved academic and transfer advisement for students, thereby increasing student graduation and transfer rates” (Roggow 26).
Evaluation
As the article highlights the importance of partnership in promoting performance and graduation rates of students, it gives me insights that support my argument that increasing education difficulty does not increase the period that students need to graduate. From the case study of BCC and JJC, it is evident that the collaboration between BCC and JJC led to the establishment educational program that enables Hispanic students to earn associate degrees and complete their baccalaureate degrees within a four-year period. The strengths of the article are that it uses a case study of BCC and JJC and roles of each stakeholders in illustrating the importance of collaboration in improving performance and graduation rates of students in learning institutions. Nevertheless, the weakness of the article is that it has low external validity because it only uses a single case, which only focuses on Hispanics, BCC, and JJC. Another weakness is that the article relies heavily on the grant as evidence of successful collaboration. Overall, the article has enhanced my understanding regarding the role of collaboration in the design and implementation of educational programs aimed at improving academic performance and graduation rates of students.
The Second Article
Citation
Maclver, Martha, and Scott Groginsky. “Working statewide to boost graduation rates.” Phi Delta Kappan 92.5 (2011):16–20. Print.
Summary
The main argument of the article is that statewide collaborative efforts are necessary to augment high school graduation rates among students. In the United States, graduation rates of high school students has been increasing owing to numerous challenges. Schools have been formulating and implementing diverse interventions, which include improving quality of instruction. Maclver and Gorginsky argue that school- and classroom-related factors are not sufficient in improving graduation rates of high school students because students constantly migrate among states and districts, which have diverse regulations, policies, and learning experiences (16). In this view, the article identifies seven factors, namely, leadership, early warning data, active participation by district leaders, external support, systematic framework, and state policy, which have a collective influence on graduation rates among high school students. In describing the role of the seven factors, the authors used the state of Colorado as a case study.
Specifically, the article describes how the program of the Colorado Graduates Initiative (CGI) has made statewide collaborative efforts aimed at reducing dropouts and improving graduation rates of high school students. Given that the authors have first-hand information about CGI, they derived important lessons that other states should apply in improving academic performance and increasing the graduation rates of high school students. Owing to the migration behaviours of students, authors recommends the use of collaborative efforts of schools, districts, and states. In this view, it implies that the education system should undertake reforms in its policies to ensure that schools, districts, and states adopt and implement similar policies to curb dropouts and improve graduation rates. Maclver and Gorginsky recommends the education system to adopt the model of the CGI because it has increased graduation rates of high school students significantly (20). Therefore, statewide collaborative efforts among relevant stakeholders is effective in increasing graduation rates of high school students.
Key Quotations
In support of the argument that increasing education difficulty does not extend the graduation period, I might use three key quotes. The first quote is that, “prior attendance levels and academic readiness of the entering 9th-grade class largely determine high school graduation rates” (Maclver and Gorginsky 16). As statewide collaborative efforts are effective in improving graduation rates, the second quote is that, “a unique collaborative effort in Colorado, the Colorado Graduates Initiative (CGI), provided several important lessons” (Maclver and Gorginsky 16). The CGI has important lessons because “the state’s annual dropout rate, based on all students in grades 7 through 12, has already declined from 4.4% in 2007 to 3.6% in 2009” (Maclver and Gorginsky 20).
Evaluation
The article expands my thinking in the aspect of factors that influence graduation rates because it highlights the impact of statewide factors. Fundamentally, the article asserts that determinants of graduation rates are not only school- and classroom-related factors, but also statewide factors because students constantly migrate from one state to another. The strength of the article is that it uses CGI in explaining the essence of statewide collaborative efforts in improving graduation rates of high school students. Another strength of the article is that it comprehensively identifies all stakeholders and describes their statewide roles in improving graduation rates of students in Colorado. However, the weaknesses of the article are that it relies on a single case study and uses a limited number of credible sources to support the stated claims. Generally, the article has expanded my understanding of factors that influence graduation rates among high school students.
Works Cited
Maclver, Martha, and Scott Groginsky. “Working statewide to boost graduation rates.” Phi Delta Kappan 92.5 (2011):16–20. Print.
Roggow, Michael. “Improving student performance outcomes and graduation rates through institutional partnerships.” New Directions for Community Colleges 1.165 (2014): 25-35. Print.