This article is one of a series of articles produced by Word in Black through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Word In Black is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country.
By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Ninth grade is arguably the most important year in the journey of a young person and sets the tone for their academic plight in high school and beyond. The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) believes that when a ninth grader passes all their classes, they’re four times more likely to graduate from high school on time. Through a federal and state-funded education project, the state of Washington has been proactive about increasing the academic success rates of ninth-grade students, and their efforts have been impactful.
According to OSPI, new data shows that the schools participating in the Ninth Grade Success Initiative, a partnership between the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Stand for Children’s Center for High School Success (CHSS), between 2019 and 2022 have seen a 6.69 percent increase in the number of ninth-grade students who passed all their classes, in comparison to neighboring schools in the same county.
Funded by state funds and nearly $5 million of the OSPI’s federal Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, CHSS has worked with more than 50 schools across Washington State since 2019.
Within the initiative, CHSS encourages school districts to use data for student discipline, grades, and attendance to help guide their process of creating systems that support the transition into the ninth grade. Building ninth-grade success and dedicating interventions that are specifically dedicated to individual students’ needs, each school district implements different strategies that will better support their students.
“Research tells us that ninth-grade success is a stronger predictor of graduating on time than almost any other factor,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal. “As our educators work diligently to support each of our learners to graduation, an intentional focus on this critical year for student success just makes sense.”
“I have worked with hundreds of educators at 53 schools across the state, and together we’ve seen targeted, school-based approaches change the trajectory for ninth-grade students,” said Henterson Carlisle, Washington Director of CHSS. “This means thousands more students engaged in school in each subsequent year, a win for our students, our schools, and our communities.”
Two OSPI staff members — Kefi Andersen, System Improvement Program Supervisor Lead, and Matthew Frizzell, Executive Director for Continuous Improvement, Data, and Implementation — collaborated with University of Washington researchers David Knight and Julia Duncheon on an initial study on the effects of the Ninth Grade Success Initiative. Along with qualitative data showing increased rates of ninth-grade students passing all their classes, the study, published last month, found that the project strengthened relationships between students and staff and motivated broader changes in teachers’ and schools’ practices.
“The path to graduation begins at ninth grade, and the most impactful strategy to increase graduation rates across Washington is by focusing on this critical transition point with research-based best practices,” said Liz Trautman, Government Affairs Director for the Washington chapter of Stand for Children. “Starting high school with the tools to succeed directly supports our state’s vision of students graduating ready to tackle their post-secondary dreams.”
