The arrival of underprepared freshmen to a high school presents a host of challenges for all stakeholders. West High School in Bakersfield, California, responded to a problem of academic failure of a significant number of freshmen by developing and implementing a Freshman Academy for underprepared students entering the 9th grade. During two years…

In 2007, spurred by University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research reports, leadership at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a new targeted approach to reducing course failure in the ninth grade. The research suggested that the transition between eighth and ninth grade played a critical role in shaping…

Researchers target 9th grade as the make or break year for completing high school. During the 9th-grade year, many students for the first time have to earn passing grades in core courses, and these core courses are typically some of the toughest and most rigorous academic classes a student must take in high school. Furthermore, the rising use of…