examining independent study high schools in california ... · independent study schools as a school...

I S S U E S & A N S W E R S R E L 2 0 0 9 – N o . 0 7 4

At WestEd

U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f E d u c a t i o n

Examining independent study high schools in California

I S S U E S&ANSWERS R E L 2 0 0 9 – N o . 0 74

At WestEd

Examiningindependentstudy

highschoolsinCalifornia

June2009

Preparedby

VanessaX.Barrat

WestEd

BethAnnBerliner

WestEd

U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f E d u c a t i o n

WA

OR

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NV

CA

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MS ALGA

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At WestEd

Issues&AnswersisanongoingseriesofreportsfromshorttermFastResponseProjectsconductedbytheregionaleducationallaboratoriesoncurrenteducationissuesofimportanceatlocal,state,andregionallevels.FastResponseProjecttopics

changetoreflectnewissues,asidentifiedthroughlaboutreachandrequestsforassistancefrompolicymakersandeducatorsatstateandlocallevelsandfromcommunities,businesses,parents,families,andyouth.AllIssues&Answersreports

meetInstituteofEducationSciencesstandardsforscientificallyvalidresearch.

June2009

ThisreportwaspreparedforIESunderContractED06CO0014byRegionalEducationalLaboratoryWestadministered

byWestEd.ThecontentofthepublicationdoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsorpoliciesofIESortheU.S.Department

ofEducation,nordoesmentionoftradenames,commercialproducts,ororganizationsimplyendorsementbytheU.S.

Government.

Thisreportisinthepublicdomain.Whilepermissiontoreprintthispublicationisnotnecessary,itshouldbecitedas:

Barrat,V.X.,andBerliner,B.(2009).Examining independent study high schools in California.(RELIssues&Answers

Report,REL2009–No.074).Washington,DC:U.S.DepartmentofEducation,InstituteofEducationSciences,National

CenterforEducationEvaluationandRegionalAssistance,RegionalEducationalLaboratoryWest.Retrievedfromhttp://ies.

ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

Thisreportisavailableontheregionaleducationallaboratorywebsiteathttp://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabshttp://ies

Summary

Examiningindependentstudy

highschoolsinCalifornia

REL 2009–No. 074

ThisexaminationofCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschools—alternative

schoolsinwhich75percentormoreof

studentsingrades9–12areenrolledin

fulltimeindependentstudy—describes

enrollmenttrendssince2001/02andthe

numberandcharacteristicsofschools

andstudentsaswellasteacherqualificationsin2006/07.

Independentstudyisapubliceducation

alternativemeanttomeetstudents’needs,

interests,andlearningstyleswhileensuring

thatstudentscanmeettheirschooldistrict’s

curriculumandgraduationrequirements.All

independentstudystudentshaveanindividualizedlearningplanthatguidestheir

education,andthestudentscancomplete

assignmentsatanytime,pace,orplacethat

conformstotheplan.

WhiletheCaliforniaEducationCodedoes

notrecognizeindependentstudyschoolsasa

schoolcategory,CaliforniaDepartmentofEducationstaffhavedefinedindependentstudy

highschoolsoperationallyasthoseinwhich

75percentormoreofstudentsingrades9–12

areenrolledinfulltimeindependentstudy.

Californiapolicymakersandeducatorshave

expressedinterestinknowingmoreabout

independentstudyhighschools.Thatinterest

emanatespartlyfromanacknowledgednecessityformorepubliceducationalternativesto

meetwiderangingstudentneedsandpartly

fromcontinuingparentdemandforchoice

intheirchildren’seducation.WiththecurrentemphasisonaccountabilityundertheNo

ChildLeftBehindActof2001,thereisalso

interestinwhetherindependentstudyhigh

schoolstudentsarebeingtaughtbyhighly

qualifiedteachers.

Thestudyaddressedsixresearchquestions:

• WhatwastheindependentstudyenrollmentinCalifornia’sindependentstudy

highschoolsandothertypesofhigh

schoolin2006/07,andwhatwasthe

enrollmenttrendbetween2001/02and

2006/07?

• DoCalifornia’sindependentstudyhigh

schoolstargetspecificstudentpopulations

and,ifso,whichones?

• Whatwerethecharacteristicsofstudents

inindependentstudyhighschoolscomparedwiththoseofstudentsinothertypes

ofhighschoolin2006/07?

• WhatwerethelocationsofCalifornia’s

independentstudyhighschoolsandtheir

schoolcharacteristicscomparedwith

ii Summary

thoseofothertypesofhighschoolin • Some54.9percentofindependentstudy

2006/07? highschoolsreportedtargetingaspecific

studentgroup,while20.5percentreported

Whatwerethequalificationsofteachers• servingthegeneralstudentpopulation.

ofcoreclassesinindependentstudyhigh (Another24.6percentprovidednoinschoolscomparedwiththoseinother formationabouttargeting.)Ofschools

typesofhighschoolin2006/07? targetingaspecificstudentgroup,45.5

percenttargetedstudentsatriskofschool

Whatpercentageofcoreclasseswere• failure,39.8percenttargetedhomestudy

taughtbyhighlyqualifiedteachersin students,10.6percenttargetedboth,and

independentstudyhighschoolscom 4.1percenttargetedothergroups.

paredwithothertypesofhighschoolin

2006/07? • In2006/07thestudentpopulationof

independentstudyhighschoolswasless

Toreportcharacteristicsofschoolsand diversethanthatofothertypesofhigh

studentsandteacherqualificationsofall school,withalargerpercentageofWhite

Californiapublicschoolsenrollingstudents students.Independentstudyhighschools

ingrades9–12,thestudyusedamerged alsohadhigherpercentagesoffemale

schoollevellongitudinaldatasetfor2001/02– students,althoughthedifferenceinfemale

2006/07totrackstudentenrollmentandused andmaleenrollmentwassmallerthan

school,teacher,andcourseleveldatasets inothernontraditionalhighschools.

for2006/07.Thequantitativeanalysiscon Andindependentstudyhighschoolshad

traststhecharacteristicsofindependent lowerpercentagesofsocioeconomically

studyhighschoolswithothernontraditional disadvantagedstudents,Englishlanguage

andtraditionalhighschools.Qualitativedata learnerstudents,studentswithdisabilifromthelatestavailableSchoolAccount ties,andmigrantstudentsthandidother

abilityReportCardforeachindependent typesofhighschool.

studyhighschoolidentifiedtargetedstudent

populationgroups. • In2006/07independentstudyhigh

schoolswerelesslikelythanothertypes

Themainfindings: ofhighschooltobelocatedinurbanareas

andtohavebeenopenbefore2001/02.

In2006/07,58,788studentswereenrolled• Theywerealsomorelikelytobecharter

infulltimeindependentstudyingrades schoolsandtoofferinstructiontostu9–12inCalifornia’s231independent dentsbelowgrade9.Independentstudy

studyhighschools—up44.2percentfrom highschoolsaveragedlargerenrollments

2001/02.Incontrast,25,560studentswere thanothernontraditionalhighschools

enrolledinfulltimeindependentstudy andsmallerenrollmentsthantraditional

ingrades9–12inothertypesofhigh highschools.Inindependentstudyhigh

school—up12.1percentfrom2001/02. schools,enrollmentincreasedfrom

iiiSummary

grade9tograde12;intraditionalhigh

schools,itdecreased.

• Teachersinindependentstudyhigh

schoolswerelesslikelythanteachersin

othertypesofhighschooltoholdanadvancedacademicdegreeandasecondary

subjectspecificteachingcredential,and

theyweremorelikelytoholdanelementary(multiplesubject)teachingcredential.Whilethemajorityofcoreclassesin

grades9–12inindependentstudyhigh

schoolsweretaughtbyahighlyqualified

teacher,theseclasseswerelesslikelythan

thoseinothertypesofhighschooltobe

taughtbyahighlyqualifiedteacher.In

independentstudyhighschools,teachers’subjectmattercompetenceforeach

classwasmorelikelytohavebeendemonstratedthroughtheHighObjectiveUniformStateStandardEvaluationandless

likelytohavebeendemonstratedthrough

advancededucation,training,orboth.

June2009

iv Table of conTenTS

TablEofConTEnTs

Whythisstudy? 1Regionalneed 2

Researchquestions 2

WhatwastheindependentstudyenrollmentinCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschoolsandothertypesofhighschoolin2006/07,andwhatwastheenrollmenttrendbetween2001/02and2006/07? 4

DoCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschoolstargetspecificstudentpopulationsand,ifso,whichones? 5

Whatwerethecharacteristicsofstudentsinindependentstudyhighschoolscomparedwiththoseofstudentsinothertypesofhighschoolin2006/07? 5

WhatwerethelocationsofCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschoolsandtheirschoolcharacteristicscomparedwiththoseofothertypesofhighschoolin2006/07? 7

Whatwerethequalificationsofteachersofcoreclassesinindependenthighschoolscomparedwiththoseinothertypesofhighschoolin2006/07? 8

Whatpercentageofcoreclassesweretaughtbyhighlyqualifiedteachersinindependentstudyhighschoolscomparedwithothertypesofhighschoolin2006/07? 9

Possibledirectionsforfurtherresearch 9

AppendixA Datasources,methodology,andlimitations 11

AppendixB Descriptivestatistics 17

Notes 23

References 24

Box

1 Datasourcesandmethods 3

Map

1 LocationofCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschools,bycounty,2006/07 7

Figures

1 Cumulativechangeinenrollmentforgrades9–12,bytypeoffulltimeenrollment,2001/02–2006/07 5

2 Distributionofindependentstudyhighschools,bytargetedstudentpopulation,2006/07 5

3 Distributionofstudentswhoaresocioeconomicallydisadvantaged,areEnglishlanguagelearnerstudents,

haveadisability,orareclassifiedasmigranteducationstudents,byhighschooltype,2006/07 6

4 Distributionofindependentstudy,othernontraditional,andtraditionalhighschools,bydistrictlocale,

2006/07 7

5 Distributionofgradelevelenrollment,byhighschooltype,2006/07 8

vTable of conTenTS

Tables

1 Characteristicsofstudentsingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07(percent) 6

2 Credentialstatusofteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07(percent) 9

B1 Numberoffulltimestudentsingrades9–12inCaliforniapublicschools,byhighschooltype,

2001/02–2006/07 17

B2 Numberandpercentageofindependentstudyhighschools,bytargetedstudentpopulation,2006/07 17

B3 Numberofindependentstudyhighschools,byCaliforniacounty,2006/07 18

B4 Schoolcategory,byhighschooltype,2006/07 19

B5 Race/ethnicityandgendercharacteristicsofstudentsingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07 19

B6 StudentsinNoChildLeftBehindActof2001subgroups,byhighschooltype,2006/07 20

B7 Schoolcharacteristics,byhighschooltype,2006/07 20

B8 Distributionoftotalenrollment,byhighschooltype,2006/07 21

B9 Studentspergrade,byhighschooltype,2006/07 21

B10 Highestacademicdegreeobtainedbyteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07 21

B11 Authorizedteachingareaofteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07 22

B12 Coreclassesingrades9–12taughtbyhighlyqualifiedteachers,byhighschooltype,2006/07 22

B13 Sourceofsubjectmattercompetenceofhighlyqualifiedteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhigh

schooltype,2006/07 22

1Why ThiS STudy?

Thisexamination

ofCalifornia’s

independent

studyhigh

schools—

alternative

schoolsinwhich

75percentor

moreofstudents

ingrades9–12are

enrolledinfull-timeindependent

study—describes

enrollmenttrends

since2001/02and

thenumberand

characteristics

ofschoolsand

studentsas

wellasteacher

qualifications

in2006/07.

WhyThissTudy?

WhilemostCaliforniahighschoolstudentspursue

adiplomabyattendingclassesMondaythrough

Fridayinaschoolbuildingfilledwithotherstudentsandteachers,someoftheirpeersaretaking

adifferentroutetograduation:theyareenrolledin

fulltimeindependentstudy.Withinsomebroad

parameters,theeducationexperienceofeachof

thesesecondarystudentsisguidedbyalearning

plantailoredtotheirneeds,interests,aptitudes,

andabilities(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation

2000).Basedontheplan,astudentmayormay

notattendclassesinaschoolbuilding,receive

dailyinstructionfromteachers,followastandard

curriculumscopeandsequence,learnwithpeers,

orhavesethoursforschooling.

Tohelpmakepublicschoolsmoreresponsiveto

thevariedneedsofCalifornia’sgrowinganddiversestudentbody,thestatehasdevelopedseveral

alternativestotraditionalclassroominstruction,

includingfulltimeindependentstudy,whichis

authorizedbytheCaliforniaEducationCodeas

apermissibleformofattendanceforstudentsin

gradesK–12(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation

2000).Originatinginthe1970s,independentstudy

recognizesthatsomestudentsneedaninstructionalsettingwithoutthestructuresoftraditional

schools.Amongstudentswhochoosethisalternativearestudentswithschedulingchallenges,for

example,becauseofworkorfamilycaretaking

responsibilities;studentspursuingparticulartalentsorinterests;studentswhohavefallenbehind

andneedtargetedinstructiontofillgapsintheir

learningortomakeupcredit;studentsatriskof

schoolfailure(includingthosewhohavedropped

outofschool);studentswhooptforahomestudy

education;studentswhoarenotchallengedin

theirregularclassroomsandwishtoaccelerate

theirstudies;andstudentswithcertaintypesof

disabilitiesorlearningstylesthatcanbeaccommodatedwithindependentstudy(California

DepartmentofEducation2000).

Allfulltimeindependentstudystudentsarerequiredtodothesameamountandqualityofstudy

2 examining independenT STudy high SchoolS in california

Whilethestateisaware

ofindependentstudy

highschools,little

isknownaboutthe

schoolsasagroup

andtomeetthesamecurriculum

andgraduationrequirementsas

otherstudentsintheirdistrict.But

independentstudystudentsmay

dosoinamannerandonaschedulebettersuitedtotheirneeds,as

detailedintheirindividualized

learningplan.Anindividualizedlearningplanisa

writtenagreementwiththestudent,thestudent’s

parentsorcaregivers,asupervisingteacher,and

othersresponsibleforassistingthestudent.It

specifiescourseassignments;learningobjectives

andinstructionalmethods;manner,frequency,

schedule,andplaceforsubmittingassignments

andreportingprogress;methodstoevaluate

studentwork;andascheduleforstudentteacher

conferencing.Studentscancompleteassignments

atanytime,pace,orlocationthatconformsto

theirplan.

Regionalneed

Whilesomeresearchexistsaboutindependent

studyasaninstructionalstrategy,virtuallynone

existsaboutschoolsinwhichmostorallstudents

areenrolledinfulltimeindependentstudy(see

appendixA).Eventhefoundationalstudieson

independentstudybyAlexanderandHines(1967)

andBrown(1968)describeitonlyasaninstructionaloptionforindividualstudentsinsome

traditionalhighschools.Californiastatepolicy

studiesissuedin2007and2008onthetopicof

alternativeschoolsdonotmentionindependent

studyhighschools,1nordoestheCaliforniaEducationCode,whichidentifiesvariouscategories

ofschoolanddefinesindependentstudyasan

optionalinstructionalstrategyforK–12students

(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2000).

Evenso,Californiahasagrowingnumberofhigh

schoolsinwhichmostorallstudentsingrades

9–12areenrolledinfulltimeindependentstudy,

andthestatehasdevelopedanoperationaldefinitionforthistypeofschool.2Ifatleast75percent

ofaschool’sstudentsingrades9–12areenrolled

infulltimeindependentstudy,CaliforniaDepartmentofEducationstaffandtheschoolsthemselves

refertotheschoolasanindependentstudyhigh

school.Suchschoolsmayoperateinvarioussettings,includingbrickandmortarschoolbuildings,

learningcenters,communitycolleges,andother

typesofcommunitybasedsettings,aswellasonline(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2000).

Whilethestateisawareofindependentstudy

highschools,littleisknownabouttheschools

asagroup.Howmanystudentsaretheyserving,

andhasthisnumberchangedovertime?Where

aretheylocated?Whattypesofstudentdothey

enroll?Arethesestudentsbeingtaughtbyhighly

qualifiedteachersasdefinedbytheNoChildLeft

BehindActof2001?

Statelegislators,foundationleaders,education

policyresearchers,CaliforniaDepartmentof

Educationstaff,andothershavebeenaskingthese

questionsinrecentyears.Thisinterestemanates

partlyfromanacknowledgedneedformorepublic

educationalternativestomeetwiderangingstudent

needsandpartlyfromcontinuingparentdemand

forchoiceintheirchildren’seducation(California

LegislativeAnalyst’sOffice2007;AronandZweig

2003;Lehr,Lanners,andLange2003).Thereisalso

interestinwhetherindependentstudystudentsare

beingtaughtbyhighlyqualifiedteachers,asdefined

undertheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001.

Researchquestions

ThisstudyaimstogenerateamoredetailedpictureofCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschools

asagroupin2006/07(themostrecentyearfor

whichdataareavailable)usingsixresearch

questions:

• Whatwastheindependentstudyenrollment

inCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschools

andothertypesofhighschoolin2006/07,

andwhatwastheenrollmenttrendbetween

2001/02and2006/07?

• DoCalifornia’sindependentstudyhigh

schoolstargetspecificstudentpopulations

and,ifso,whichones?

3Why ThiS STudy?

• Whatwerethecharacteristicsofstudentsin

independentstudyhighschoolscompared

withthoseofstudentsinothertypesofhigh

schoolin2006/07?

• WhatwerethelocationsofCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschoolsandtheirschool

characteristicscomparedwiththoseofother

typesofhighschoolin2006/07?

• Whatwerethequalificationsofteachersof

coreclassesinindependentstudyhighschools

comparedwiththoseinothertypesofhigh

schoolin2006/07?

• Whatpercentageofcoreclassesweretaught

byhighlyqualifiedteachersinindependent

studyhighschoolscomparedwithothertypes

ofhighschoolin2006/07?

Box1andappendixAprovidedetailsonthe

studydataandmethodologyusedtoanswerthese

questions.

box 1

Datasourcesandmethods

DatasourcesDatawerecollectedfrompublic

andwebbasedsourcesandusedto

prepareseveraldatasetsforanalysis:

aschoollevellongitudinaldatasetfor

2001/02–2006/07totrackstudentenrollmentingrades9–12andschool,

teacher,andcourseleveldatasets

withcharacteristicsofschools,

teacherqualifications,andstudents

ofallCaliforniapublicschoolsthat

enrolledstudentsingrades9–12in

2006/07.

Independent study, other nontraditional, and traditional high schools. AllCaliforniaschoolsservinggrades

9–12wereclassifiedasindependentstudyhighschools(75percent

ormoreofstudentingrades9–12

enrolledinfulltimeindependent

study),traditionalhighschools

(lessthan75percentofstudentsin

grades9–12enrolledinfulltime

independentstudy),orothernontraditionalhighschools(schools

thatarenotindependentstudyor

traditionalhighschools,including

continuationschools,community

schools,communitydayschools,and

otherschools;seetableB4inappendixB).Classificationswerebasedon

CaliforniaBasicEducationalData

Systemenrollmentdata,independent

studyenrollmentfromtheIndependentStudyDatabasemaintainedby

theEducationOptionsOfficeofthe

CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation,

andtheschooltypefromtheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation’sPublic

SchoolsDatabase.

Enrollment trends.Aschoollevel

datasetwithtotalenrollmentand

fulltimeindependentstudyenrollmentbyschoolwasconstructed

usingdatafromtheCaliforniaBasic

EducationalDataSystemSchoolInformationForm(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2008b)andthe

IndependentStudyDatabase(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2008d).

Targeted student populations. InformationfromthelatestSchool

AccountabilityReportCardsfor

independentstudyhighschoolswas

analyzed.(Ifaschool’sSchoolAccountabilityReportCardcouldnot

belocated,otherwebbasednarrativedatawereused).Tworesearchers

readandcodedthenarrativeprofiles

todeterminethestudentpopulationtargetedbyeachschool:atrisk

students,homestudystudents,

otherspecificstudentpopulations,

orageneralstudentpopulation.

Datawereavailablefor224ofthe

231independentstudyhighschools

(97.0percent).Thetworatersagreed

oncodingsfor95.6percentofthe

schools.Incasesofdisagreement,the

investigatorsreviewedanddiscussed

thedatatoreachagreement.

Student characteristics.Enrollment

databygrade,gender,andrace/

ethnicityarefromthe2006/07CaliforniaBasicEducationalDataSystem

SchoolInformationForm(California

DepartmentofEducation2008b),and

enrollmentbysocioeconomicallydisadvantagedstatus,Englishlanguage

learnerstatus,disabilitystatus,and

migranteducationstatusarefrom

California’sGrowthAcademicPerformanceIndexdatafileforeachschool

(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation

2008c).

School characteristics.Schoollocation

wasbasedonphysicaladdress,and

schoolyearofopeningandcharter

(conTinued)


box 1 (conTinued)

Datasourcesandmethods

statuswerefromtheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducationPublicSchools

Database(CaliforniaDepartmentof

Education2008e).Informationused

includeddistrictlocale(urban,suburban,rural)fromtheCommonCore

ofDataoftheU.S.Departmentof

EducationNationalCenterforEducationStatistics(2007),andenrollment

bygradefromtheCaliforniaBasic

EducationalDataSystemSchoolInformationForm(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2008b).

Teacher qualifications.Tobeconsideredhighlyqualified,theNoChild

LeftBehindActof2001requires

teachersofcoresecondaryclasses

(English,reading/languagearts,

mathematics,science,foreignlanguages,civics/government,economics,arts,history,andgeography)to

haveabachelor’sdegreeandastate

teachingcredentialandtodemonstratesubjectmattercompetencefor

eachcoresubjecttaught(California

DepartmentofEducation2004).

Teachersinindependentstudyneed

onlyonecredentialofanytype,

whereasteachersintraditionalhigh

schoolsneedasecondarysubjectspecificcredentialinthecontent

areaoftheirteachingassignment.

Informationonteacherqualification

isfromthe2006/07CaliforniaBasic

EducationalDataSystemProfessionalAssignmentInformationForm

staffcharacteristicsfile(California

DepartmentofEducation2008a).

Core classes taught by highly qualified teachers. Informationoncoreclasses

taughtbyhighlyqualifiedteachers

isfromthe2006/07CaliforniaBasic

EducationalDataSystemProfessional

AssignmentInformationFormcourseleveldataset,whichindicatescompliancewiththeNoChildLeftBehind

Actof2001highlyqualifiedteacher

requirementsandidentifieshow

teachersdemonstratedsubjectmatter

competenceforthatclass(California

DepartmentofEducation2008a).

AnalysisNotestsofstatisticalsignificancewere

conductedbecausethestudycoversthefullpopulationofCalifornia

publicschoolswithgrades9–12.

Toallowcomparisonswithother

analyses,countsineachcategory

analyzedarereportedinappendixB

forcategoricalvariables,andaverages,

standarddeviations,andquartilesare

reportedforenrollmentdata.

StudylimitationsSchooldemographicdatawerenot

availableatthestudentlevelor

separatelyforstudentsinindependentstudy,sostudentcharacteristics

coverallstudentswithinaschool

type.Distributionofstudentsby

socioeconomicallydisadvantaged

status,Englishlanguagelearner

status,disabilitystatus,andmigrant

educationstatuswasavailableatthe

schoollevelonlyandnotforgrades

9–12separately.In2006/07datawere

notconsistentlyavailableforclasses

inwhichseveralsubjectsweretaught,

sotheanalysismayunderestimate

thepercentageofcoreclassestaught

byhighlyqualifiedteachers.Further

detailsaboutdatacharacteristics,

methodology,andstudylimitations

arediscussedinappendixA.

WhaTWasThEindEpEndEnTsTudy

EnrollmEnTinCalifornia’sindEpEndEnT

sTudyhighsChoolsandoThEr

TypEsofhighsChoolin2006/07,and

WhaTWasThEEnrollmEnTTrEnd

bETWEEn2001/02and2006/07?

In2006/07,84,348students(4.2percent)ofCalifornia’snearly2millionhighschoolstudentswere

enrolledinfulltimeindependentstudy(seetable

B1inappendixB).Although907(36.1percent)of

2,515publicschoolsservinggrades9–12enrolled

oneormoreoftheseindependentstudystudents,

58,788(69.7percent)ofthemattended231schools

thatmettheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation

staff’soperationaldefinitionofanindependent

studyhighschool.Thoughthecutofffortheoperationaldefinitionis75percent,onaverage,97.4

percentofthestudentsingrades9–12ateachof

theseschoolswereenrolledinfulltimeindependentstudy.

Independentstudyenrollmentinindependent

studyhighschoolsincreasedfasterthandidother

typesofenrollmentfrom2001/02to2006/07.

In2001/02Californiahad63,582highschool

5

Other 4.1

Targeted 54.9

No information 24.6

General 20.5

figure 2

distributionofindependentstudyhighschools,

bytargetedstudentpopulation,2006/07(percent)

Source:Authors’analysisbasedon224SchoolAccountabilityReport

Cardsfor2006/07.If2006/07SchoolAccountabilityReportCardswere

notavailableasofspring2008,SchoolAccountabilityReportCardsfrom

thepreviousyearorotherwebbased,publiclyavailableinformation

wereused(seeappendixA).

WhaT Were The characTeriSTicS of STudenTS in independenT STudy high SchoolS?

studentsinfulltimeindependentstudy,with

40,782ofthemattendingindependentstudyhigh

schoolsand22,800attendingothertypesofhigh

school.In2006/07thenumberoffulltimeindependentstudyhighschoolstudentsroseto84,348,

with58,788ofthemattendingindependentstudy

highschools(up44.2percent)and25,560attendingothertypesofhighschool(up12.1percent;

figure1).Otherfulltimehighschoolenrollment

(studentsnotinindependentstudy)was1,708,835

in2001/02,risingto1,905,857in2006/07(up11.5

percent).

doCalifornia’sindEpEndEnTsTudy

highsChoolsTargETspECifiCsTudEnT

populaTionsand,ifso,WhiChonEs?

Some54.9percentofthe224independentstudy

highschoolswithpubliclyavailableSchoolAccountabilityReportCardsreportedtargetinga

specificstudentgroup,while20.5percentreported

servingthegeneralstudentpopulation(figure2).

(Another24.6percentprovidednoinformation

abouttargetingaspecificstudentpopulation.)Of

schoolstargetingaspecificstudentgroup,45.5

figure 1

Cumulativechangeinenrollmentforgrades9–12,

bytypeoffull-timeenrollment,2001/02–2006/07

(percent)

Percent 50

40

30

20

10

Full-time independent study students in other schools 0

2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07

Source: Authors’analysisbasedonenrollmentdatafor2001/02–2006/07

fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008b).

Full-time independent study students in independent study high schools

Students in other full-time enrollment

percenttargetedstudentsatriskofschoolfailure

(forexample,studentsperformingbelowgrade

levelorwithcreditdeficiencies),39.8percent

targetedhomestudystudents(studentspursuing

aformofindependentstudythatinvolvesaparent

asinstructor),and10.6percenttargetedboth.A

smallerpercentage(4.1percent)reportedtargeting

othertypesofstudent,includinggiftedstudentsor

thosepursuingaparticularinterest(suchasacting

orcompetitivesports).

WhaTWErEThECharaCTErisTiCsof

sTudEnTsinindEpEndEnTsTudyhigh

sChoolsComparEdWiThThosEofsTudEnTs

inoThErTypEsofhighsChoolin2006/07?

In2006/07,44.4percentofindependentstudyhigh

schoolstudentswereWhite,agreaterpercentage

thaninothernontraditionalhighschools(25.3

percent)andtraditionalhighschools(32.9percent)(table1),whichweremoreracially/ethnically

diverse.Likewise,36.4percentofindependentstudy

highschoolsstudentswereHispanic,and3.6percent

wereAsian,alsosmallerpercentagesthaninthe

othertypesofhighschool.Blackstudents,however,

At risk 45.5

Home study 39.8

At risk and home study 10.6


Table 1

Characteristicsofstudentsingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07(percent)

Student characteristic

independent study high school

(60,676 students)

other nontraditional high school

(136,174 students)

Traditional high school

(1,793,355 students)

race/ethnicity

White, not hispanic 44.4 25.3 32.9

hispanic 36.4 53.1 43.5

black, not hispanic 8.7 12.9 7.8

asian/pacific islander 3.6 4.9 12.7

american indian/alaska native 1.7 1.3 0.8

more than one race or no response 5.2 2.4 2.4

gender

female 54.6 39.3 49.3

male 45.4 60.7 50.7

Note:Componentsmaynotsumto100percentbecauseofrounding.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonenrollmentbygenderandrace/ethnicitydatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008b).

accountedfor8.7percentofindependentstudy

highschoolstudents,agreaterpercentagethanin

traditionalhighschools(7.8percent),butasmaller

percentagethaninothernontraditionalhighschools

(12.9percent).SmallnumbersofAmericanIndian/

AlaskaNativestudentswereenrolledinallthree

typesofhighschool,wheretheyaccountedforless

than2percentofthestudentpopulation.3

Thegendersplitacrossthestudentpopulationsof

thethreetypesofhighschoolalsovaries.Girlsaccountedfor54.6percentofthestudentsenrolledin

independentstudyhighschoolsbut39.3percentof

theenrollmentinothernontraditionalhighschools

and49.3percentintraditionalhighschools.

In2006/07,14.3percentofstudentsinindependentstudyhighschoolsweresocioeconomically

disadvantaged,asmallerproportionthaninother

nontraditionalhighschools(23.6percent)and

traditionalhighschools(39.9percent)(figure3).

Similarly,Englishlanguagelearnerstudentsaccountedfor3.5percentofthestudentpopulation

inindependentstudyhighschools,compared

with10.2percentinothernontraditionalhigh

schoolsand26.6percentintraditionalhigh

schools.Studentswithdisabilitiesaccountedfora

smallerproportionofthetotalstudentpopulation

inindependentstudyhighschools(2.6percent)

thaninothertypesofhighschool,asdidmigrant

educationstudents(0.2percent).

figure 3

distributionofstudentswhoare

socioeconomicallydisadvantaged,areEnglish

languagelearnerstudents,haveadisability,or

areclassifiedasmigranteducationstudents,by

highschooltype,2006/07

14.3Socioeconomically 23.6disadvantaged

39.9studentsa

3.5English language 10.2learner students 26.6

2.6Students with 13.2

disabilities 7.8 Independent study high school (73,730 students) Other nontraditional high school

Migrant 0.2 (108,710 students) 1.1education Traditional high school students 2.1 (1,410,691 students)

0 10 20 30 40 50

Percent

a.Studentsaredefinedassocioeconomicallydisadvantagediftheyparticipatedinthefreeorreducedpricelunchprogramorifneitherparent

graduatedhighschool.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonenrollmentbysubgroupfromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008c).

7WhaT Were The locaTionS and characTeriSTicS of independenT STudy high SchoolS?

WhaTWErEThEloCaTionsofCalifornia’s

indEpEndEnTsTudyhighsChoolsandThEir

sChoolCharaCTErisTiCsComparEdWiTh

ThosEofoThErTypEsofhigh

sChoolin2006/07?

Ofthestate’s58counties,52hadatleastone

independentstudyhighschoolin2006/07(map1).

TableB3inappendixBliststhenumberofindependentstudyhighschoolsbycounty.

In2006/07independentstudyhighschoolswere

lesslikelythanwereothertypesofhighschool

tobelocatedinurbanschooldistrictsandmore

likelytobelocatedinsuburbanandruralschool

districts.Some28.6percentofindependent

studyhighschoolswerelocatedinurbanschool

districts,comparedwith33.2percentofother

nontraditionalhighschoolsand43.4percentof

traditionalhighschools(figure4).Alargershare

ofindependentstudyhighschools(46.3percent)

werelocatedinsuburbanschooldistrictscomparedwithothernontraditional(43.4percent)

andtraditionalhighschools(42.4percent).Some

25.1percentofindependentstudyhighschools

werelocatedinruralschooldistricts,compared

with23.4percentofothernontraditionalhigh

schoolsand14.2percentoftraditionalhigh

schools.

Some71.9percentofindependentstudyhigh

schoolsoperatingin2006/07wereopenbefore

2001/02,while83.3percentofothernontraditional

highschoolsand80.2percentoftraditionalhigh

schoolswere.

In2006/07,40.7percentofindependentstudyhigh

schoolswerecharterschools,while0.4percentof

othernontraditionalhighschoolsand14.5percent

oftraditionalhighschoolswere.Nontraditional

highschoolsgenerallyhaveenrollmentrequirementsandfundingprovisionsthatpreventthem

fromoperatingascharterschools,exceptwith

specialpermission.

Independentstudyhighschoolsaveragedenrollmentof263students,nearlytwicethatatother

map 1

locationofCalifornia’sindependentstudyhigh

schools,bycounty,2006/07

Note:SixCaliforniaVirtualAcademyschoolsshowednolocaladdressin

theCaliforniaDepartmentofEducationPublicSchoolsDatabasesothey

aremappedatthecenterofeachoftheirrespectivecounties.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedoneachschool’sphysicaladdressfrom

CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008e).

figure 4

distributionofindependentstudy,other

nontraditional,andtraditionalhighschools,by

districtlocale,2006/07

Urban Suburban Rural

Independent study 28.6 46.3% 25.1high schools (231)

Other nontraditional high 33.2 43.4% 23.4schools (1,033)

Traditional high 43.4 42.4 14.2schools (1,250)

0 25 50 75 100 Percent

Note:Localedataareunavailableforonetraditionalhighschool.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedondatafromU.S.DepartmentofEducation,NationalCenterforEducationStatistics(2007).


Teachersinindependent

studyhighschoolswere

morelikelytoholdan

elementaryorgeneral

secondarycredential

andlesslikelytohold

asecondarysubject

specificcredential

thanwereteachersin

othernontraditional

highschools

nontraditionalhighschools,which

averaged132students.Incontrast,

traditionalhighschoolsaveraged

1,434students.

Some71.9percentofindependent

studyhighschoolsalsoserved

gradelevelsbelowthestandard

9–12highschoolgrades,while

38.3percentofothernontraditionaland17.8percentoftraditionalhighschoolsdid.

Studentsingrade9accountedfor20.0percentof

studentsingrades9–12inindependentstudyhigh

schools,withthegradelevelenrollmentshare

increasingingrade10(to24.7percent),grade

11(to26.6percent),andgrade12(to28.6percent)(figure5).Enrollmentdistributioninother

nontraditionalhighschoolswassimilar,though

theincreasefromonegradeleveltothenextwas

greater.Intraditionalhighschoolsenrollmentdistributionbygradeleveldecreasedathighergrade

levels,fallingfrom28.6percentingrade9to20.8

percentingrade12.

0 25 50 75 100

Traditional high schools

(1,791,472 students)

Other nontraditional

high schools (134,614 students)

Independent study high schools

(60,660 students) 20.0 24.7 28.626.6

13.9 18.3 38.729.2

28.6 26.6

Percent

20.824.0

Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12

figure 5

distributionofgrade-levelenrollment,byhigh

schooltype,2006/07

Note:Doesnotinclude3,459highschoolstudentswithoutaspecific

grade9–12designationintheCaliforniaBasicEducationalDataSystem.

Totalsmaynotsumto100percentbecauseofrounding.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonenrollmentbygradeleveldatafrom

CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008b).

WhaTWErEThEqualifiCaTionsofTEaChErs

ofCorEClassEsinindEpEndEnThigh

sChoolsComparEdWiThThosEinoThEr

TypEsofhighsChoolin2006/07?

In2006/07over99percentofteachersofgrades

9–12coreclassesinallthreetypesofhighschool

heldatleastabachelor’sdegree,asrequiredbythe

NoChildLeftBehindActof2001.Ofteachersof

coreclassesinindependentstudyhighschools,67.7

percenthadabachelor’sastheirhighestdegreeand

32.0percenthadamaster’sordoctoraldegree;less

than1percentofindependentstudyhighschool

teachersdidnotmeettheeducationrequirement.

Intheothertypesofhighschoolalargerproportionofteachersheldanadvanceddegree—42.1

percentinothernontraditionalhighschoolsand

38.7percentintraditionalhighschools.

In2006/07nearlyallteachersofgrades9–12

coreclassesinindependentstudyhighschools

(94.3percent),othernontraditionalhighschools

(92.0percent),andtraditionalhighschools(92.2

percent)hadcompletedateacherpreparation

programandheldafullcredential(table2).However,acrosstheseschooltypesthepercentageof

teachersauthorizedtoteachattheelementaryor

secondarylevelsvaried.

Teachersinindependentstudyhighschoolswere

morelikelytoholdanelementary(multiplesubject)credential(49.0percent)thanwereteachers

inothernontraditionalhighschools(29.7percent)

andtraditionalhighschools(8.0percent).Teachersinindependentstudyhighschoolsalsowere

morelikelytoholdageneralsecondarycredential

(15.9percent)thanweretheircounterpartsin

othernontraditionalhighschools(9.5percent)and

traditionalhighschools(4.0percent).

Incontrast,teachersinindependentstudyhigh

schoolswerelesslikelytoholdasecondary

subjectspecificcredential(57.1percent)comparedwithteachersinothernontraditionalhigh

schools(67.9percent)andtraditionalhighschools

(83.7percent);theyalsowerelesslikelytoholda

credentialinotherteachingareas(36.2percent)

poSSible direcTionS for furTher reSearch 9

Table 2

Credentialstatusofteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07(percent)

authorized teaching areas


(1,972 teachers)


(6,080 teachers)

Traditional high school

(62,385 teachers)

full credentials 94.3 92.0 92.2

elementary (multiple subject) 49.0 29.7 8.0

Secondary, general 15.9 9.5 4.0

Secondary, subject specific 57.1 67.9 83.7

other teaching areasa 36.2 58.1 54.4

Without full credentials 5.7 8.0 7.8

Note:Percentageofauthorizedteachingareasmaynotsumtothepercentageofteacherswithfullcredentialbecauseteacherscouldhavemorethanone

typeoffullcredentialandteachingarea.

a.SpecifiedinCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008a)toincludespecialeducation,readingspecialist/certificate,primarylanguageinstruction,English

languagedevelopment,speciallydesignedacademicinstructioninEnglish,adulteducation,andspecialdesignatedsubjects.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonstaffcharacteristicsdatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008a).

comparedwiththeircounterpartsinothernontraditional(58.1percent)andtraditionalhighschools

(54.4percent).

WhaTpErCEnTagEofCorEClassEs

WErETaughTbyhighlyqualifiEd

TEaChErsinindEpEndEnTsTudy

highsChoolsComparEdWiThoThEr

TypEsofhighsChoolin2006/07?

In2006/07allthreetypesofhighschoolreported

alargemajorityofgrades9–12coreclassestaught

byahighlyqualifiedteacher,asdefinedbytheNo

ChildLeftBehindActof2001.Inadditiontomeetingtheeducationandcredentialrequirements,

theseteachersalsometthesubjectmattercompetencerequirement,eitherthroughadvancededucation,training,orboth,orthroughthestate’sHigh

ObjectiveUniformStateStandardofEvaluation.4In

contrasttotheothertypesofhighschool,though,

independentstudyhighschoolshadthesmallest

proportionofcoreclassestaughtbyahighlyqualifiedteacher,at73.9percent;theproportionswere

80.2percentforothernontraditionalhighschools

and91.4percentfortraditionalhighschools.

Abouthalf(51.1percent)ofcoreclassesingrades

9–12inindependentstudyhighschoolswere

taughtbyhighlyqualifiedteacherswhometthe

subjectmattercompetencerequirementonthe

basisoftheHighObjectiveUniformStateStandardofEvaluation,ahigherpercentagethanin

othernontraditionalhighschools(30.8percent)or

traditionalhighschools(11.1percent).

possiblEdirECTionsforfurThErrEsEarCh

ThestudywasaninitialefforttodescribeCalifornia’sindependentstudyhighschools,asubject

virtuallyunexploredintheresearchliterature.

Somereadersmaywanttoknowmoreaboutthis

typeofschool,sotheremaybevalueinexploring

performancerelatedschoolcharacteristicsthat

havebeenthesubjectofmuchresearchinother

typesofhighschoolbuthavenotbeenexamined

forindependentstudy

highschools.Possibledirectionsinclude

investigationsofstudent

academicperformance

andofgraduation,dropout,exitexamination,

transfer,andcollegegoingratesaswellasa

costbenefitanalysisof

independentstudyhigh

abouthalfofcore

classesingrades9 12in

independentstudyhigh

schoolsweretaughtby

highlyqualifiedteachers,

ahigherpercentagethan

inothernontraditional

highschoolsor

traditionalhighschools


Newprimarydatacollectioneffortsusingsurveys

andinterviewscouldofferperspectiveonsuch

issuesasdistrictreasonsforincludingorexcluding

fulltimeindependentstudyasahighschooloption,

studentmotivationsforenrollinginindependent

studyhighschools,andtheroleandexperiencesof

parentsandteachersinnonsitebasedinstruction.

Asthestate’sdatacollectionsystemsareupgradedtoincludeindividualstudentandteacher

data,therewillbenewopportunitiestoconduct

longitudinalstudiesandtomoreaccuratelyand

comprehensivelydescribepartandfulltime

independentstudyinalltypesofpublicschool.It

willalsobepossibletoassesswhetheracademic

performanceimproveswhenstudentsenrollin

independentstudy.

newprimarydata

collectioneffortsusing

surveysandinterviews

couldofferperspective

ondistrictreasonsfor

includingfull time

independentstudy

asaschooloption,

motivationsforenrolling

inindependentstudy

highschools,andthe

roleofparentsand

teachersinnon site

basedinstruction

schools,especiallyrelatedto

effortstoclosetheachievement

gap.

Otherpossibleresearchareas

includedescribingindependent

studyhighschoolmissionsand

educationphilosophiesandhow

theyrespondtolocalandregional

studentneeds,examininghowindependentstudyhighschoolsare

organizedtoserveindependent

studystudents,comparingschool

characteristicsbycharterschool

status,anddocumentinghow

independentstudyhighschools

supportstudentsatriskofschoolfailure.

11appendix a. daTa SourceS, meThodology, and limiTaTionS

appEndixa

daTasourCEs,mEThodology,

andlimiTaTions

Thisappendixdiscussesthedatasourcesused

inthestudy,explainsinfurtherdetailhowthe

analyseswereperformed,andlaysoutthestudy’s

limitations.

Datasources

Thereisvirtuallynoresearchaboutschoolsin

whichmostorallstudentsareenrolledinfulltimeindependentstudy.Alternativeeducation

studiesthatdrawonexistingresearchdonot

mentionindependentstudyhighschools(Aron

2006;RuzziandKraemer2006;Lehr,Lanners,

andLange2003;LangeandSletten2002;Young

1990).Toidentifyrelevantstudies—thatis,

published,peerreviewedstudiesthatspecifically

addressindependentstudyhighschools—asearch

ofallarticlessince1990wasconductedusingthe

keywords“independentstudy”and(“highschool”

or“secondaryeducation”)inEducator’sReference

Complete,EducationResearchComplete,AcademicSearchPremier,CSA/SageSocialSciences

fulltext,ProQuest,andProQuestDissertations

andTheses.Inaddition,websitesoforganizations

andagenciesinvolvedinalternativeeducation

werescannedforpublishedreportsorarticles,bibliographiesandreferencelistsfromreviewsofthe

alternativeeducationliteraturewerereviewed,and

sixalternativeeducationleaderswerecontacted

forrecommendations.Thisprocessidentifiedno

peerreviewedpublicationsthataddressindependentstudyhighschools.Totheextentthepublicationscitedinthisreportaddressindependent

study,theydosoonlyasanalternativeinstructionalstrategyusedinothertypesofschool.

Dataforthestudycomefrompublicandwebbasedsourcesandwereusedtoprepareseveral

datasets:amergedschoollevellongitudinal

datasetfor2001/02–2006/07totrackenrollmentin

grades9–12andschool,teacher,andcourselevel

datasetsthatprovidedinformationonschooland

studentcharacteristicsandteacherqualifications

forallCaliforniapublicschoolsenrollingstudents

ingrades9–12in2006/07.

QualitativedatasourceswerenarrativeinformationfromthelatestavailableSchoolAccountability

ReportCardandotherwebbaseddescriptive

materialabouteachindependentstudyhighschool.

School, teacher, courselevel datasets.Datawere

drawnfromtheCaliforniaBasicEducationalData

System,anindependentstudydatabasemaintainedbytheEducationOptionsOfficeofthe

CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(California

DepartmentofEducation2008d);theCalifornia

DepartmentofEducation’sPublicSchoolsDatabase(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2008e);

theCaliforniaGrowthAcademicPerformance

Indexdatafile(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2008c);andtheCommonCoreofDataofthe

U.S.DepartmentofEducationNationalCenterfor

EducationStatistics(2007).

TheCaliforniaBasicEducationalDataSystemisa

statewide,annuallyupdateddatabasethatcollects

dataprimarilyonstaffandstudentdemographicsandonenrollmentforallpublicschoolsand

districtsinCalifornia.Ofspecificinterestforthis

studyweredatafromtheSchoolInformation

Form,whichcollectsschoollevelstudentenrollmentdata,includingdataonfulltimeenrollment

inindependentstudyandenrollmentbygrade,

race/ethnicity,andgender(CaliforniaDepartment

ofEducation2008b).CaliforniaBasicEducational

DataSystemenrollmentdataweredownloaded

for2001/02–2006/07.Alsoofinterestweredata

fromtheProfessionalAssignmentInformation

Form,whichcollectsdataoncertificatedstafffrom

countyofficesofeducationandschooldistricts

(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2008a).The

formcontainsdataonteachingstaffcharacteristics

byuniquerecordidentificationandcountydistrictschoolcodeaswellascoursedatabyassignment

codeforeachteacher.Theteacherlevelandcourseleveldataweredownloadedfor2006/07.

TheEducationOptionsOfficeoftheCalifornia

DepartmentofEducationmaintainsadatabaseof


allschoolsthatenrollK–12studentsinfulltime timedatawerecollectedforthisstudy,the2005/06

independentstudy(CaliforniaDepartmentofEdu reportswerethemaindatasource.IfaSchoolAccation2008d).Thedatabasedrawsfrommultiple countabilityReportCardwasnotavailableforboth

datasources:theCaliforniaBasicEducationalData yearsorifthenarrativeinaSchoolAccountability

System,confirmatoryformssenttoschoolstoverify ReportCardwasincomplete,otherinformationon

independentstudyenrollment,andCaliforniaDe theschool’swebsitewasexamined.Qualitativedata

partmentofEducationstaffexpertiseandknowledge wereunavailablefor7ofthe231independentstudy

abouttheschools.Becausethedatabasedrawsfrom highschoolsidentifiedinthisstudy.

multiplesourcesandnotjusttheCaliforniaBasic

EducationalDataSystem,itsindependentstudyen SchoolleveldatafromtheCaliforniaDepartrollmentdatamaydifferfromdataintheCalifornia mentofEducation’sPublicSchoolsDatabase,the

BasicEducationalDataSystem.Forschoolsthathave CaliforniaDepartmentofEducationindependent

independentstudystudents,enrollmentdatawere studydatabase,andtheCaliforniaBasicEducatakenfromtheindependentstudydatabase. tionalDataSystemSchoolInformationFormwere

mergedusingthecountydistrictschoolcodefor

TheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation’sPublic 2001/02–2006/07todocumentenrollmenttrends

SchoolsDatabaseisanannuallyupdatedlistof forgrades9–12inCaliforniapublicschools,

California’spublicschools,schooldistricts,and separatingfulltimeindependentstudyenrollment

countyofficesofeducation(CaliforniaDepartment fromothertypesofenrollment.Inthedatasetused

ofEducation2008e).Itprovidedinformationon foranalysis,ahighschool’sindependentstudy

schooladdresses,yearofopening,charterstatus, enrollmentwascappedatthetotalenrollmentfor

andhighschooltype. grades9–12,plusanyungradedsecondarystudents

(thatis,studentsforwhomtherewasnoidentifiDataonsocioeconomicallydisadvantagedstu cationastogradelevelotherthangrades9–12).

dents,Englishlanguagelearnerstudents,students Adultenrollmentwasexcluded.Thiscomputation

withdisabilities,andstudentsinmigranteduca resultedinaslightdecreaseinreportedenrollment

tioncamefromCalifornia’sGrowthAcademic inindependentstudyduring2001/02–2005/06(a

PerformanceIndexdatafilein2006/07(California 0–0.5percentdecrease,dependingontheyear)and

DepartmentofEducation2008c). a2.4percentdecreasein2006/07,mainlydueto

reportingdiscrepanciesinoneschool.

TheCommonCoreofDataoftheU.S.DepartmentofEducationNationalCenterforEducation Allpublicschoolswithgrades9–12intheCaliforStatistics(2007)provideslocaleinformation(urban, niaBasicEducationalDataSystemwereincluded

suburban,rural)onallschoolsanddistricts.This inthisanalysisexceptrecordscodedas“0000001”

studyuseddatafromthe2005/06CommonCoreof inthesystemstartingin2006/07,whichwere

Datatoreportonthepresenceofindependentstudy excludedbecausetheyaccountforstudentsin

schoolsinurban,suburban,andruraldistricts. publicspecialeducationwhoreceiveservicesfrom

nonpublic,nonsectarianschoolscertifiedbythe

Schoollevel, webbased qualitative data. Thestudy CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation.The2006/07

alsocollectedstudentpopulationdatafromthemost CaliforniaBasicEducationalDataSystemdata

recentSchoolAccountabilityReportCardavail included422suchrecords.

ableinspring2008.SchoolAccountabilityReport

Cardsareannualreportsproducedbyeachpublic Quantitativeanalysis

schooltodescribeitsschool,teacher,andstudent

characteristicsandprogresstowarditsacademic Quantitativeanalysiswasconductedforschool

goals.Sincemostschoolshadnotyetreleasedtheir type,enrollment,andlocale;studentcharacteris2006/07SchoolAccountabilityReportCardatthe tics;andteachercharacteristics.


School type.Californiapublicschoolswith

grades9–12wereclassifiedintothreetypes—

independentstudyhighschools,othernontraditionalhighschools,andtraditionalhighschools—

basedontheindependentstudyenrollment

numbersfromthedatasetusedforanalysis.Some

231schoolswereidentifiedashaving75percent

ormoreofstudentsingrades9–12enrolledin

fulltimeindependentstudyin2006/07anddesignatedindependentstudyhighschools.(Schools

correspondingtononvoluntaryplacements—specificallycommunitydayschoolsandjuvenilehall

schools—wereexcludedfromthistotal.)The1,251

publicschoolsin2006/07thatenrolledthegeneral

studentpopulationingrades9–12weredesignated

astraditionalhighschools.Andthe1,033remainingschoolsin2006/07weredesignatedasother

nontraditionalhighschools—agroupthatincludedcontinuationschools,communityschools,

communitydayschools,andotherschoolsthatthe

statereportsintheCaliforniaBasicEducational

DataSystemthatwereneitherindependentstudy

highschoolsnortraditionalhighschools(seetable

B4inappendixBforacompletelistofnontraditionalschoolcategories).

School enrollment.Thepercentageofstudentsin

grades9–12enrolledinfulltimeindependent

studywascomputedforeachschoolasthenumber

ofstudentsingrades9–12infulltimeindependentstudydividedbythetotalnumberofstudents

enrolledingrades9–12intheschool.

Foreachyearfrom2002/03to2006/07enrollment

figuresfromthelongitudinalschoolleveldataset

wereusedtocomputehowmuchchangehadoccurredsince2001/02inthreetypesofgrades9–12

enrollment:thenumberoffulltimeindependent

studystudentsenrolledinindependentstudyhigh

schools,thenumberoffulltimeindependent

studystudentsenrolledinothertypesofhigh

school,andthenumberofstudentsnotenrolledin

independentstudy.Thechangewasexpressedasa

percentageof2001/02totalenrollment.

School locale.Schoollocalewasdefinedbased

onthe2005/06CommonCoreofDatadistrict

definitions(U.S.DepartmentofEducation,NationalCenterforEducationStatistics2007).

Togeneratetheurban,suburban,andruralsubgroupsusedinthisstudy,thefollowingcategories

weregrouped:

• Urban:largecityormidsizecity.

• Suburban:urbanfringesoflargecity,urban

fringesofmidsizecity,orlargetown.

• Rural:smalltownandrural,outsideametropolitancorebasedstatisticalarea,orrural,

insideamicropolitancorebasedstatistical

area.

Student characteristics.Sevenstudentcharacteristicswereconsideredinthestudyusingtwo

estimatingtechniques.

• Percentage of students by grade level, race/ ethnicity, and gender.ThroughtheSchool

InformationForm,theCaliforniaBasic

EducationalDataSystemcollectsstudent

enrollmentbygradelevel,race/ethnicity,and

gender(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation

2008b).Thepercentageofstudentsforeach

variableforeachschooltypewascomputedas

thetotalnumberofstudentsineachsubgroup

ingrades9–12dividedbythetotalnumberof

studentsingrades9–12inthecorresponding

highschooltype.Race/ethnicitycategorieson

theSchoolInformationFormwereAmericanIndianorAlaskaNative;Asian;Pacific

Islander;Filipino;HispanicorLatino;African

American,notHispanic;White,notHispanic;

andmultipleornoresponse.Forthisstudy

Asian,PacificIslander,andFilipinowere

categorizedasAsian/PacificIslander.

• Percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged students, English language learner students, students with disabilities, and students in migrant education subgroups.Becausedata

forthesesubgroupswerenotavailablefrom

theCaliforniaBasicEducationalDataSystem,


thisreportusesthesamemethodologyasthat (CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation2008a).

usedbythestateinestimatingthepercent Foreachhighschooltypethepercentageof

ageofthesesubgroupsforthestate’sSchool teacherswithfullcredentialswascomputed

AccountabilityReportCards(www.cde. asthenumberofteacherswithfullcredentials

ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/def07enrlgroup.asp).Based dividedbythetotalnumberofteachersinthe

ondatafromthe2006/07GrowthAcademic correspondinghighschooltype.Analysiswas

PerformanceIndexdatafile,thepercentageof restrictedtoteachersofcoreclassesingrades

studentsidentifiedinthosesubgroupsequals 9–12.

thenumberofstudentsineachsubgroup

includedintheAcademicPerformanceIndex • Percentage of teachers by authorized teaching dividedbythenumberofstudentsenrolledon area.ThestaffcharacteristicsfileintheCalithefirstdayoftesting(CaliforniaDepartment forniaBasicEducationalDataSystemProfesofEducation2008c).Sincedatawerenotavail sionalAssignmentInformationFormindiablebygradelevel,thesepercentageswereof catedwhethereachteacherwasauthorizedto

thetotalschoolenrollment. teachelementary(multiplesubject),general

secondary,subjectspecificsecondary,orother

Teacher characteristics.Fourteachercharac areas(CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation

teristicswereconsideredinthestudy:highest 2008a).Otherteachingareasnotclassified

academicdegreeobtained,percentageofteachers bygraderangeinthestaffcharacteristicsfile

withfullcredentials,percentageofteachersby includedspecialeducation,readingspecialist/

authorizedteachingarea,andpercentageofcore certificate,primarylanguageinstruction,

classesingrades9–12taughtbyhighlyqualified Englishlanguagedevelopment,specially

teachers. designedacademicinstructioninEnglish,

adulteducation,andspecialdesignatedsubHighest academic degree obtained. • TheProfes jects(thatis,drivereducation,drivertraining,

sionalAssignmentInformationFormstaff ROTC,basicmilitarydrill,aviationflight,

databasecontainsavariablethatliststhe orgroundinstruction).Foreachhighschool

highestlevelofeducationattainmentofeach typethepercentageofteachersbyauthorized

teacherinCalifornia.Therearesixvaluesfor teachingareawascomputedasthenumberof

thevariable:doctorate,master’sdegreeplus teachersauthorizedinanareadividedbythe

30ormoresemesterhours,master’sdegree, totalnumberofteachersinthecorresponding

bachelor’sdegreeplus30ormoresemes highschooltype.Analysiswasrestrictedto

terhours,bachelor’sdegree,andlessthan teachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12with

bachelor’sdegree.Togeneratethedoctor fullcredentials.

ate,master’sdegree,bachelor’sdegree,and

lessthanbachelor’sdegreesubgroups,these • Percentage of core classes in grades 9–12 taught categoriesweregroupedbasedondiplomas; by highly qualified teachers.In2005/06data

additionalsemesterhoursofeducationexpe becameavailableinthecourseleveldataset

riencewerenottakenintoaccount.Analysis oftheProfessionalAssignmentInformation

wasrestrictedtoteachersofcoreclassesin FormaboutcompliancewiththeNoChild

grades9–12. LeftBehindActof2001(CaliforniaDepart

mentofEducation2008a).TeachersidentiPercentage of teachers with full credentials. • fiedwhethereachassignmentwasacore

ThestaffcharacteristicsfileintheCalifornia class(yes,elementary;yes,secondary;orno)

BasicEducationalDataSystemProfessional andwhethertheywerehighlyqualifiedto

AssignmentInformationFormindicated teachit(yes,basedoneducationandtesting;

whetherateacherheldafullcredential yes,basedonHighObjectiveUniformState


StandardofEvaluation;orno).Forthisstudy

thepercentageofcoreclassesingrades9–12

taughtbyahighlyqualifiedteacherforeach

schooltypeiscomputedasthenumberof

classesingrades9–12markedascoreand

taughtbyahighlyqualifiedteacherdivided

bythetotalnumberofcoreclassesingrades

9–12inthecorrespondingschooltypeusing

2006/07data.

Thepercentageofcoreclassesingrades9–12

taughtbyahighlyqualifiedteacherbasedon

education,training,orbothandthepercentagetaughtbyahighlyqualifiedteacherbased

ontheHighObjectiveUniformStateStandard

ofEvaluationweresimilarlycomputed(numberofclassesingrades9–12markedascore

secondaryandtaughtbyahighlyqualified

teacherbasedoneducation,training,orboth

dividedbythetotalnumberofcoreclasses

ingrades9–12taughtbyahighlyqualified

teacherandnumberofclassesingrades9–12

markedascoreclassesandtaughtbyahighly

qualifiedteacherbasedontheHighObjective

UniformStateStandardofEvaluationdivided

bythetotalnumberofcoreclassesingrades

9–12taughtbyahighlyqualifiedteacher)

using2006/07data.

Significance tests.Thestudydescribesthecharacteristicsofthepopulationofindependentstudy

highschoolsinCaliforniaandcontraststhesewith

thecharacteristicsofotherschooltypes.Notests

ofstatisticalsignificancewereconductedforthe

differencesbetweenthethreetypesofschoolor

toevaluatechangeinthecharacteristicspresentedinthereportduringtheperiodofanalysis.

EveryCaliforniapublicschoolwithgrades9–12

isincludedinthisstudy,soitisnotasampleof

alargerpopulationandnostatisticalinference

isimpliedorneeded.Toallowcomparisonswith

otheranalyses,countsofschools,students,teachers,andteachers’coresecondaryassignmentsin

eachanalyzedcategoryarereportedinappendix

Bforcategoricalvariables,andaverages,standard

deviations,andquartilesarereportedforenrollmentinformation.

Qualitativeanalyses

Contentanalysismethodswereusedtoanalyze

themostcurrentschoolprofiledataavailablein

spring2008.Foreachindependentstudyhigh

school,targetedstudentpopulationswereidentifiedbyexaminingtheschool’sSchoolAccountabilityReportCard,otherwebbasednarrative

data,orbothtolookforreferencestotargetinga

specificstudentpopulation.SchoolAccountabilityReportCardsorotherwebbasedschooldata

wereavailablefor224(97.0percent)ofthe231

independentstudyhighschools.The224schools

werecategorizedinoneoffivewaysbasedonthe

presenceofthefollowingkeywordsorreferences

intheprofileinformation:

• “Targetingatriskstudents”ifnarrativeinformationincludedsuchtermsasatrisk students,students who dropped out of high school,

students with credit deficiency,students who were unsuccessful in other schools,pregnancy/ parenting,drug/alcohol use,andtruancy.

• “Targetinghomestudystudents”ifnarrative

informationincludedsuchtermsashome study,home schooled,andhybrid home schooling(atermthatreferstoacombinationof

sitebasedinstructionandhomestudywitha

parentasinstructor).

• “Othertargetedpopulation”ifnarrative

informationreferredspecificallytotarget

populationsotherthanatriskorhomestudy

students.

• “General”ifnarrativeinformationincluded

suchtermsasall students,every student,or

generalstudentpopulations.

• “Noinformation”iftherewasnospecific

mentionofatargetedorgeneralpopulation.

Toensurereliability,tworesearcherscodedthis

commonsetofdata.Interraterreliabilitywas95.6

percent.Incasesofdiscrepancies,theinvestigators

reviewedthedatatoreachmutualagreement.


Limitationsofthestudy

Thestudyhaslimitationsinbothitsquantitative

andqualitativeanalyses.

Quantitative analyses.Whileindependentstudy

enrollmentdatawereavailableforeachschoolfor

2001/02–2006/07,dataondisaggregatedstudent

characteristicsspecifictostudentsenrolledinindependentstudywereunavailable.Nearlyallstudents

inindependentstudyhighschoolswereenrolledin

independentstudyand,in2006/07,96.9percentof

studentsingrades9–12enrolledintheseschools

wereenrolledinindependentstudy.So3.1percentof

thestudentsincludedintheanalysisofgradelevel,

race/ethnicity,andgenderinindependentstudyhigh

schoolswerenotenrolledinindependentstudy.

In2006/07thestatechangeditsmethodforcollectingstudentenrollmentdata.Before2006/07

studentenrollmentandotherschoolrelateddata

hadbeencollectedexclusivelythroughtheCaliforniaBasicEducationalDataSystemSchoolInformationForm,anelectronicformthathasbuiltin

checksandbalancestoensureaccuracy.In2006/07

enrollmentdataforsucheducationoptionsasindependentstudycontinuedtobecollectedthrough

theSchoolInformationForm,buttotalschool

enrollmentwascollectedthroughtheCalifornia

SchoolInformationServicesaspartofaplanned,

gradualtransitiontothisnewcollectionsystem.

Thoughbothsetsofdatawouldcontinuetobe

reportedthroughtheCaliforniaBasicEducational

DataSystem,theSchoolInformationForm’sbuiltincheckscouldnolongercomparetotalenrollment

numberswithotherstudentpopulationnumbersat

thetimeofentry;thislimitationmayhaveresulted

inincreasedvariabilityinthereportednumberof

studentsenrolledinindependentstudy.

Thevoluntaryreportingrequirementsspecificto

independentstudyteachersforreportingcertain

variablespresentedanotherlimitation.Because

reportingonthevariableforcollegepreparatoryclasseswasoptionalforindependentstudy

teachers,thedatawereincompleteandnotreliable

enoughtoincludeinthisstudy.

AnotherlimitationconcernshowCaliforniateachersreportdatarelatedtotheirteachingassignments

ontheProfessionalAssignmentInformationForm.

Whendocumentingassignments,teacherscanpick

fromlistsofmultiplesubjectspecificcodes.Before

2007/08independentstudyteachersteachingseveraldifferentsubjectsinthesameassignmentcould

useanindependentstudyassignmentcodeinstead

ofasubjectspecificcode.AccordingtotheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation,tobeconsidered

highlyqualifiedforanindependentstudyassignmenttheteachershouldbehighlyqualifiedtoteach

eachcoresecondarysubjectwithintheassignment.

Thisallornothingreporting,coupledwithahigher

frequencyofteachersteachingmultiplesubjectsin

independentstudyhighschools,mightresultinan

underestimateofthepercentageofcoresecondary

classestaughtbyhighlyqualifiedteachers.

Thenumbersofsocioeconomicallydisadvantaged

students,Englishlanguagelearnerstudents,

studentswithdisabilities,andstudentsinmigrant

educationwerenotavailableintheCalifornia

BasicEducationalDataSystem,anddatainthe

GrowthAcademicPerformanceIndexdatafile

reporttotalschoolenrollmentforthesesubgroups

butdonotdisaggregateacrossgradelevels.Therefore,thesepercentagesrepresenttheproportion

ofthetotalschoolenrollmentin2006/07,which

mightbedifferentfromtheproportionofthose

subgroupsingrades9–12.

Qualitative analyses.Becausemanyschoolshad

notyetreleasedtheir2006/07SchoolAccountabilityReportCardbyspring2008,obtaining

acompletesetofthesereportswasimpossible.

The2005/06SchoolAccountabilityReportCards

wereusedinstead.AsystematicInternetsearch

determinedthat,whilemostofthesereports

werearchivedonschool,district,orcountyweb

sites,somewereunavailable.Ifaschool’sSchool

AccountabilityReportCardfor2005/06wasnot

available,investigatorssearchedfora2006/07

SchoolAccountabilityReportCard.Ifthiswasalso

unavailable,theysearchedthroughschoolwebsite

information.Theamountandqualityofthenarrativedatainthesedatasourceswereinconsistent.

17appendix b. deScripTive STaTiSTicS

appEndixb

dEsCripTivEsTaTisTiCs

Table b1

numberoffull-timestudentsingrades9–12inCaliforniapublicschools,byhighschooltype,

2001/02–2006/07

School year

full time independent study in independent

study high schools

full time independent study

in other schools

other full time

enrollment Total students in grades 9 12

2001/02 40,782 22,800 1,708,835 1,772,417

2002/03 46,273 23,659 1,761,061 1,830,993

2003/04 47,472 23,567 1,805,897 1,876,936

2004/05 54,225 24,245 1,858,544 1,937,014

2005/06 54,812 24,683 1,895,150 1,974,645

2006/07 58,788 25,560 1,905,857 1,990,205

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonenrollmentdatafor2001/02–2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008b).

Table b2

numberandpercentageofindependentstudy

highschools,bytargetedstudentpopulation,

2006/07

Targeted student population number percent

at risk 56 25.0

home study 49 21.9

at risk and home study 13 5.8

other 5 2.2

general 46 20.5

no information on targeted population 55 24.6

Total 224 100.0

Note:Datawereunavailableforsevenindependentstudyhighschools.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonthelatestdataavailableinspring

2008fromtheSchoolAccountabilityReportCards,orotherwebbased,

publiclyavailableinformation.


county

number of independent study

high schools

alameda 5

alpine 0

amador 1

butte 4

calaveras 2

colusa 1

contra costa 8

del norte 2

el dorado 2

fresno 12

glenn 1

humboldt 5

imperial 1

inyo 0

Kern 6

Kings 2

lake 1

lassen 3

los angeles 21

madera 3

county


high schools

marin 3

mariposa 1

mendocino 3

merced 1

modoc 1

mono 2

monterey 4

napa 1

nevada 3

orange 10

placer 4

plumas 1

riverside 7

Sacramento 12

San benito 0

San bernardino 15

San diego 26

San francisco 1

San Joaquin 2

San luis obispo 3

county


high schools

San mateo 1

Santa barbara 2

Santa clara 2

Santa cruz 4

Shasta 5

Sierra 1

Siskiyou 1

Solano 0

Sonoma 4

Stanislaus 7

Sutter 2

Tehama 0

Trinity 0

Tulare 6

Tuolumne 3

ventura 6

yolo 2

yuba 5

Total 231

Table b3

numberofindependentstudyhighschools,byCaliforniacounty,2006/07

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonschoolphysicaladdressfromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008e).


Table b4

schoolcategory,byhighschooltype,2006/07

School category independent study

high school other nontraditional

high school Traditional high school Total

high school 30 0 1,143 1,173

continuation 0 518 0 518

community day 0 209 0 209

alternative 120 56 0 176

K–12 68 0 42 110

Special education 0 103 0 103

Juvenile hall 0 56 0 56

county community 6 49 0 55

elementary 7 0 27 34

middle 0 0 31 31

opportunity 0 26 0 26

california youth authority 0 9 0 9

Junior high 0 0 8 8

State special 0 3 0 3

missing 0 4 0 4

Total 231 1,033 1,251 2,515

Source:SchooltypedatafromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008e).

Table b5

race/ethnicityandgendercharacteristicsofstudentsingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07

characteristic



Traditional high school Total

number percent number percent number percent number percent

race/ethnicity

White, not hispanic 26,911 44.4 34,447 25.3 589,283 32.9 650,641 32.7

hispanic 22,067 36.4 72,310 53.1 780,309 43.5 874,686 43.9

black, not hispanic 5,305 8.7 17,619 12.9 139,123 7.8 162,047 8.1

asian/pacific islander 2,209 3.6 6,716 4.9 228,514 12.7 237,439 11.9

american indian/alaska native 1,024 1.7 1,810 1.3 13,767 0.8 16,601 0.8

more than one race or no response 3,160 5.2 3,272 2.4 42,359 2.4 48,791 2.5

gender

female 33,115 54.6 53,579 39.3 884,615 49.3 971,309 48.8

male 27,561 45.4 82,595 60.7 908,740 50.7 1,018,896 51.2

Total 60,676 100.0 136,174 100.0 1,793,355 100.0 1,990,205 100.0

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonenrollmentdatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008b).


Table b6

studentsinnoChildleftbehindactof2001subgroups,byhighschooltype,2006/07

Student subgroup





Socioeconomically disadvantaged studentsa 10,543 14.3 25,634 23.6 563,450 39.9 599,627 37.6

english language learner students 2,613 3.5 11,106 10.2 375,115 26.6 388,834 24.4

Students with disabilities 1,904 2.6 14,371 13.2 110,323 7.8 126,598 7.9

migrant education students 180 0.2 1,192 1.1 29,688 2.1 31,060 1.9

Total 73,730 108,710 1,410,691 1,593,131

a.Definedasstudentswhoparticipatedinthefreeorreducedpricelunchprogramorwhoseparentswerenothighschoolgraduates.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedondatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008c).

Table b7

schoolcharacteristics,byhighschooltype,2006/07

School characteristic





locale

urban 66 28.6 343 33.2 543 43.4 952 37.9

Suburban 107 46.3 448 43.4 530 42.4 1,085 43.2

rural 58 25.1 242 23.4 177 14.2 477 19.0

year opened

before 2001/02 166 71.9 860 83.3 1003 80.2 2029 80.7

2001/02 or later 65 28.1 173 16.8 248 19.8 486 19.3

charter status

charter schools 94 40.7 4 0.4 181 14.5 279 11.1

noncharter schools 137 59.3 1,029 99.6 1,070 85.5 2,236 88.9

grade range

grades 9–12 and other grades 166 71.9 396 38.3 222 17.8 784 31.2

grades 9–12 only 65 28.1 637 61.7 1,029 82.3 1,731 68.8

all schools 231 100.0 1,033 100.0 1,251 100.0 2,515 100.0

Note:Totalsmaynotsumto100percentbecauseofrounding.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonenrollmentbygradedatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008b),districtlocaledatafromU.S.

DepartmentofEducation,NationalCenterforEducationStatistics(2007),andcharterstatusdatafromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008e).


Table b8

distributionoftotalenrollment,byhighschooltype,2006/07

School type number of

schools average Standard deviation

25th percentile median

75th percentile

independent study high school 231 263 426.2 67 126 259

other nontraditional high school 1,033 132 250.8 22 65 161

Traditional high school 1,251 1,434 1,116.8 307 1,432 2,279


Table b9

studentspergrade,byhighschooltype,2006/07

grade level





all graded students 60,660 100.0 134,614 100.0 1,791,472 100.0 1,986,746 100.0

grade 9 12,155 20.0 18,681 13.9 512,664 28.6 543,500 27.4

grade 10 15,012 24.7 24,595 18.3 476,544 26.6 516,151 26.0

grade 11 16,152 26.6 39,290 29.2 430,455 24.0 485,897 24.5

grade 12 17,341 28.6 52,048 38.7 371,809 20.8 441,198 22.2

ungraded 9–12 16 1,560 1,883 3,459

all students grades 9–12 60,676 136,174 1,793,355 1,990,205

Note:Totalsmaynotsumto100percentbecauseofrounding.


Table b10

highestacademicdegreeobtainedbyteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07

degree





less than bachelor’s degree 7 0.4 10 0.2 75 0.1 92 0.1

bachelor’s degree 1,335 67.7 3,506 57.7 38,179 61.2 43,020 61.1

master’s degree 603 30.6 2,436 40.1 23,052 37.0 26,091 37.1

doctorate 27 1.4 123 2.0 1,050 1.7 1,200 1.7

Total 1,972 100.0 6,075 100.0 62,356 100.0 70,403 100.0

Note:Totalsmaynotsumto100percentbecauseofrounding.Datawereunavailablefor5teachersinothernontraditionalhighschoolsand29teachersin

traditionalhighschools.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonstaffcharacteristicsfor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008a).


Table b11

authorizedteachingareaofteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhighschooltype,2006/07

authorized teaching area





With full credentials 1,860 94.3 5,594 92.0 57,496 92.2 64,950 92.2

elementary 966 49.0 1,805 29.7 4,976 8.0 7,747 11.0

Secondary/all subjects 314 15.9 578 9.5 2,508 4.0 3,400 4.8

Secondary/subject specific 1,126 57.1 4,127 67.9 52,203 83.7 57,456 81.6

other teaching areasa 714 36.2 3,531 58.1 33,943 54.4 38,188 54.2

Without full credentials 112 5.7 486 8.0 4,889 7.8 5,487 7.8

Total 1,972 100.0 6,080 100.0 62,385 100.0 70,437 100.0

Note:Percentagesbyauthorizedteachingareamaynotsumtothepercentageofteacherswithfullcredentialbecauseteacherscouldhavemorethanone

typeoffullcredentialandteachingarea.

a.SpecifiedinCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008a)toincludespecialeducation,readingspecialist/certificate,primarylanguageinstruction,English

languagedevelopment,speciallydesignedacademicinstructioninEnglish,adulteducation,andspecialdesignatedsubjects.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedonstaffcharacteristicsdatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008a).

Table b12

Coreclassesingrades9–12taughtbyhighlyqualifiedteachers,byhighschooltype,2006/07

core class status





Taught by highly qualified teachers 3,447 73.9 19,005 80.2 252,804 91.4 275,256 90.3

not taught by highly qualified teachers 1,216 26.1 4,699 19.8 23,657 8.6 29,572 9.7

Total 4,663 100.0 23,704 100.0 276,461 100.0 304,828 100.0

Note:Dataforonecoreclasswereunavailable.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedoncoursedatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008a).

Table b13

sourceofsubject-mattercompetenceofhighlyqualifiedteachersofcoreclassesingrades9–12,byhigh

schooltype,2006/07

Source of subject matter competence





based on the high objective uniform State Standard of evaluation 1,763 51.1 5,862 30.8 28,058 11.1 35,683 13.0

based on education, training, or both 1,684 48.9 13,143 69.2 224,746 88.9 239,573 87.0

Total 3,447 100.0 19,005 100.0 252,804 100.0 275,256 100.0

Note:Dataforonecoreclasswereunavailable.

Source:Authors’analysisbasedoncoursedatafor2006/07fromCaliforniaDepartmentofEducation(2008a).

noTeS 23

noTEs forvariouspurposes,includingeligibilityto

1. TheCaliforniaLegislativeAnalyst’sOffice

applyfortheexemplaryindependentstudy

recognitionaward.CaliforniaDepartment

(2007)foundthatin2004/05,10–15percent

ofhighschoolstudentsenrolledinanalternativeeducationoption.Althoughthereport

ofEducationstaffagreedthattheuseofthe

operationaldefinitionforthisstudycould

provideusefulresults(M.Jones,Consultant,

includesindependentstudyasoneoftheseoptions,itdoesnotmentionindependentstudy

highschools.Thereportwasfollowedby

severalrelatedreportsthataimedtoaddress

thefullspectrumofalternativeschoolsbut 3.

CaliforniaDepartmentofEducation,EducationOptionsOffice,personalcommunication,

September24,2007).

Unlessotherwisenoted,BlackincludesAfriinsteadfocusedalmostexclusivelyoncontinuationschools.Amongthemwasa2008

canAmerican,HispanicincludesLatino,and

Asian/PacificIslanderincludesNativeHawai

summaryreportentitledAlternative Education Options: A Descriptive Study of California

ianorOtherPacificIslander.

Continuation High Schools (RuizdeVelasco 4. TheHighObjectiveUniformStateStandardof

etal.2008). Evaluationisadistrictimplementedevalu

2. Thisoperationaldefinitionwasconstructed

ationprocessusedtoverifysubjectmatter

competence,whichassignscreditsforteach

byCaliforniaDepartmentofEducationstaff

todefineapopulationofschoolsthatare

notrecognizedasaschoolcategoryinthe

inginasubjectmatterarea,professionalserviceandinstructionalleadershipexperience,

coursework,andotherformsofprofessional

CaliforniaEducationCode.Itisusedbythe

statestaffinitsaccountingoftheseschools

developmentaswellasoptionalobservations

ofinstructionandaportfolioreview.


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