Diplomas Now: Helping Vulnerable Students Succeed in School

1. Diplomas Now helps schools and communities enable their most vulnerable students succeed in school

2. Diplomas Now Was Created for the Nation’s Most Challenged Secondary Schools • A subset of schools disproportionately drives the nation’s dropout crisis with high numbers students with poor attendance, behavioral challenges, and course failures • Existing reform and support approaches for these schools and students were not sufficient Confidential

3. The Diplomas Now Model Diplomas Now combines improvements for entire schools with enhanced student support guided by early-warning system. It brings together three nonprofits to partner with highest-need schools and districts to build the capacity required to meet the scale and intensity of student need: Communities In Schoolsprovides case-managed support to students with the highest needs. Johns Hopkins University’s Talent Development Secondary provides curriculum/instruction support and early warning system. City Year’s “near peer” AmeriCorps members provide individualized and whole-class academic and social-emotional support. Confidential

4. Investing in Innovation (i3) In 2010, Diplomas Now won a $30 million federal Investing in Innovation (i3) validation grant to implement its model across 11 school districts and validate its impact on students through a randomized control trial research study • PepsiCo Foundation is the founding sponsor of Diplomas Now and provided a $6 million matching grant to the i3 Confidential

5. Critical Research Questions • Does Diplomas Now reduce early warning indicators (poor attendance, poor behavior, course failure in English and math)? • Can it be implemented and sustained in high-needs schools? • Does it lead to better outcomes for most vulnerable children? • Does it help improve entire schools? Confidential

6. i3 Study Details • 62 low-performing secondary schools in 11 high-poverty districts, recruited in two cohorts. • 32 schools randomly assigned to implement Diplomas Now. • Other 30 schools did not have Diplomas Nowbut also underwent reforms. • Establishes causal impact of Diplomas Now on key student outcomes • Rigorous test, conducted under challenging conditions: • Schools selected based on need not school readiness • Implementation begins without planning period • During economic recession (greater need, fewer community resources) Confidential

7. i3 Study Focused on High-Needs Schools and Students Baseline for Schools Before Diplomas Now Intervention (6th and 9th grade) Baseline of Students in i3 research study as they entered 6thand 9thGrade (before treatment) Confidential

8. Seven-Year Study: Five Reports of Lessons and Findings Diplomas Now was awarded i3 in summer 2010 and began recruiting schools in two annual cohorts for implementation in fall 2011 (5 years of implementation for high school; 4 for middle school) Confidential

9. Implementation and Service Contrast Findings: Reports 1 & 2 Key components, such as early-warning system and student support, quickly & successfully established Led to statistically significant “service contrasts”for students and teachers compared with schools without Diplomas Now • For students, increased frequency of: • Coordinated academic and non-academic services • Math/English academic help • In-class behavioral support • For teachers, increased frequency of: • Using data to drive instruction and target struggling students • Teacher collaboration • Support from instructional coaches • Contrasts emerged in first year and increased in second year Confidential

10. EARLY IMPACT FINDINGSFROM 3RD MDRC REPORTTO BE RELEASED JUNE 21, 2016Results embargoed until then Confidential

11. Diplomas Now Reduces Early Warning Indicators Diplomas Now schools had positive, statistically significant increase in percentage of sixth- and ninth-graders with no early warning indicators (poor attendance, sustained poor behavior and failing math and English) This is key metric Diplomas Now was designed to improve Why this matters: • Eliminating such indicators can triple students’ odds of graduating from high school from 25% to 75% 1 • Gaining positive, statistically significant results after only first year of multi-year intervention under challenging conditions is encouraging • Statistical significant, positive impacts in randomized control trials are rare. (Only 1 in 10 such education studies produces positive, meaningful results2) Confidential 1 Robert Balfanz, "Putting Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Path," Keynote Address, National Middle School Association, 2009, slide 14, 2 Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, “Randomized Controlled Trials Commissioned by the Institute of Education Sciences Since 2002: How Many Found Positive Versus Weak or No Effects,” July 2013.

12. Diplomas Now Increases Impact Over Time Diplomas Now schools achieved a statistically significant increase in impact from the first to second year of implementation in 6th and 9th grades Differentiation in service practices in Diplomas Now schools increased from year 1 to year 2 compared with control schools Why this matters: • Diplomas Now can implement, strengthen and sustain a distinct set of practices that improve outcomes for students. Confidential

13. Particularly Strong and Important Early Impact in the Middle Grades Diplomas Now middle schools achieved positive, statistically significantimpact on reducing: • Percentage of students with early-warning indicators • Chronic absenteeism Why this matters: • Robust results achieved even when sample size was cut in half to include only middle schools • First rigorous evidence that chronic absenteeism can be reduced in high-poverty middle schools by using early-warning system and student support • Validates using Diplomas Now strategies in major efforts, such as White House’s My Brother’s Keeper chronic absenteeism initiative Confidential

14. Emerging High School Findings Diplomas Now had positive impact on percentage of 9th grade students with no early warning indicators. But with the sample size reduced to include only high schools, finding not statistically significant. Future reports will examine Diplomas Now impact on incrementally reducing 9th graders’ early warning indicators, such as from three to one indicator. More detail: • Strongest impact with first-time 9th graders with no early warning indicators in 8th grade. Kept them from falling off-track. • Impacts not as strong with 9th graders who had multiple early warning indicators in 8th grade. They likely require more than one year of support to achieve no early warning indicators, a core Diplomas Now tenant. Confidential

15. ADDITIONAL FINDINGSFROM 3RD MDRC REPORTON DIPLOMAS NOW Confidential

16. How Does Diplomas Now Impact Broader Student Outcomes? • Diplomas Now targets the most struggling students by eliminating early warning indicators to keep them on path to high school graduation. • But study also examined impact on a broader group of students to see if there were increases in those who regularly come to school, don’t require disciplinary action and pass all their classes. • Study defines this as meeting the normative ABC threshold: passing all courses (including science and social studies)*, zero suspensions* and 90% or higher attendance. Confidential * Diplomas Now specifically targets students who have exhibited at least one suspension and focuses on helping students pass math and English.

17. Early Indications of Diplomas Now’s Potential Broader Impact For 3 out of 4 subgroups, Diplomas Now achieved positive, meaningful impacts: • students who entered 6th grade proficient, • students who entered 6th grade not proficient and • students who entered 9th grade having achieved normative ABC threshold in 8th grade* Did not achieve positive, significant impact on • students who entered for 9th graders who did not achieve normative ABC threshold in 8th grade Why this matters: • By providing focused support for the most vulnerable students, Diplomas Now appears to enhance a school’s capacity to help other students improve as well. Confidential *These impacts did not achieve statistical significance because of greatly reduced sample size.

18. Diplomas Now and Comparison Schools Improved in Individual Attendance, Behavior and Course Passing Indicators The report further segmented individual indicators in addition to the key composite outcomes across all indicators: • The 6th and 9th grades in Diplomas Now schools increased overall attendance and course-passing rates, and saw decline in suspensions. Comparison schools without Diplomas Now, many of which implemented solid reforms, also improved. • As a result, Diplomas Now schools had slightly higher, though not statistically significant, outcomes for attendance and course performance, and rates of suspensions compared with schools without Diplomas Now. Confidential

19. Answering the Critical Questions Does Diplomas Now reduce early warning indicators (poor attendance, poor behavior, course failure in English and math)? YES-Shown in 6th and 9th grade after first year of multi-year intervention. Can it be implemented and sustained in high-needs schools? YES-Implementation and difference from comparison schools grew over time. Does it lead to better outcomes for most vulnerable children? So far YES-Fewer high-needs students with early warning indicators in 6th and 9th grades. Future reports will track longer-term outcomes. Does it help improve entire schools? Positive indications-6th and 9th grade attendance and course passing up, and suspensions down over time. Confidential

20. Some Lessons Learned and Diplomas Now Responses The MDRC findings validated insights Diplomas Now teams identified through internal tracking during early implementation years and used to improve model in subsequent years. Diplomas Now examples: • Implemented additional strategies to address student behavior starting in year 3 including restorative practices, which empower students to resolve conflicts • Emphasized schoolwide prevention strategies. In year 3, Diplomas Now teams organized schoolwide “start strong” and “finish strong” efforts and schoolwide attendance challenges Confidential

21. Important Questions for Further Study • There are indications in the early impact findings that in addition to helping the most vulnerable students get back on track, Diplomas Now may have a strong impact on keeping students who did well in 5th and 8th grade from veering off-track during their transition to middle and high school. • Can these indications be confirmed? Confidential

22. Important Questions for Further Study • Will Diplomas Now’s strategy of beginning with an intense focus on implementing an early warning system and tiered student support and phasing in whole-school reforms over time versus the more traditional strategy of beginning with a focus on whole-school climate lead to a deeper and more sustained implementation of both whole-school reforms and enhanced student support? • And will that lead to greater schoolwide and student-level impact? Confidential

23. Summary: Key Takeaways • Diplomas Now achieved positive, statistically significant impact on key metric the model is designed to improve – reducing percentage of students with early warning indicators. • This result and other key findings tell promising story about Diplomas Now schools supporting students and adults in better, more effective ways. • Results also show the clear need to provide the most vulnerable students with multiple years of continuous support. Confidential

24. Summary: Key Takeaways The i3 study’s early implementation and impact results provide evidence to support and begin to validate the Diplomas Now theory of action: Combining whole school reforms with enhanced student support guided by an early-warning system strengthens the nation’s most challenged schools and keeps more of the most vulnerable students on-track to high school graduation. Confidential

25. How Will Diplomas Now Use New Findings? • New federal education law – Every Student Succeeds Act – emphasizes evidence-based initiatives and includes new tiers of evidence for a program to be used in low-performing schools and qualify for federal Title I funding. • “Strong evidence” – the most rigorous tier – means a program has had at least one randomized study that shows a statistically significant effect on student outcomes. • As states and districts craft new improvement plans, Diplomas Now will leverage its strong evidence to work with more high-needs schools and students. • Apply for scale-up grant in final round of Investing in Innovation (i3) program. Confidential

26. Next Steps • Confidential internal briefings in April and May for key stakeholders, according to coordinated roll-out plan. • i3 report public release in June 2016. (Results embargoed until official release) • MDRC planning fourth report in 2018 analyzing connections between implementation and impact data. • Final fifth report in 2019 will look at impact on HS grad rates and ninth-grade success of middle grade students. Confidential

27. Want to Learn More? Visit our website at: www.diplomasnow.org Confidential