The On-Track Program is in place to help students earn lost
credit. Students who failed a core class
during the 1st and/or 2nd six week period were given the
opportunity to attend a tutorial-like class after school twice a week. Typical sessions lasted for an hour to an
hour and a half.
My site supervisor, Fred Younkman, allowed me to gain some
administrative experience by acting as administrator on-duty at 4 of the
On-Track sessions. Rather than just
checking in on the teacher from time-to-time, I chose to sit with the students
to get a better feel for the program. The
sessions I attended were for English 2 students who failed the 2nd
six week period. I had the pleasure of
watching a talented teacher work with 5-6 students in creating a position paper
from beginning to end.
On-Track focused on 3 out of the 4 core subjects – English,
Algebra, Biology. Below is the beginning
of the data I have collected so far.
1st
Six Weeks:
Algebra
Students: 8
Credit
Earned: 3
Biology
Students: 4
Credit
Earned: 3
English
Students: 6
Credit Earned: 6
2nd
Six Weeks:
Algebra
Students: 18
Credit
Earned: 9
Biology
Students: 7
Credit
earned: 0
English 1 Students: 8
Credit
Earned: 6
English 2
Students: 6
Credit
Earned: 6
Students who
did not participate on a regular basis were not given credit. Many students fell into this category. The second half of my research is to follow
up on these students. I would like to
know how many of them continued to struggle in the course they previously
failed. For those who successfully earned
their credit back, how many of them have continued to do well? From what I have learned in my Research class
this project will likely lead to another inquiry. It’s possible for someone to ask why the
attendance was low for some students. If
it’s a transportation issue, how can we make the program more accessible?
