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Alternative middle and high schools/programs

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Description

Alternative schools/programs provide an alternative option to traditional school models and are aimed at better meeting the needs of students who may be struggling in a traditional school model.  Such schools are generally described as maintaining a small size, emphasizing one-on-one interaction between teachers and students, allowing opportunities for student success relevant to future careers, allowing flexibility in structure and an emphasis on student decision-making, and creating a supportive environment. There are at least three types of alternative schools: Type I are alternative schools of choice, sometimes similar to magnet schools; Type II schools are ‘last chance' stops for students before being expelled, emphasizing behavior modification and remediation; and Type III have a remedial focus on academic and social skills (NASDSE-Lange 2002).  Examples of such schools include: Griffin-Spalding Middle School Academy in Atlanta; Accelerated Academics Academy in Flint, MI; and Project ACCEL in Newark, NJ.

Expected Beneficial Outcomes

Decreased barriers to learning
Improved employment and wages
Improved high school graduation

Evidence of Effectiveness

Mathematica-Dynarski 1998 finds mixed evidence of effectiveness for alternative schools, with more promising results for high-intensity middle school programs (e.g., Griffin-Spalding Middle School Academy in Atlanta; Accelerated Academics Academy in Flint, MI; and Project ACCEL in Newark, NJ) than high school programs. 

Intensive middle school dropout-prevention programs had positive effects whereas less intensive programs generally did not. More intensive programs generally helped students stay in school but did not noticeably improve student grades and test scores. Alternative high school programs did not noticeably reduce dropping out or improve other outcomes when compared with existing programs to encourage high school completion. These alternative high schools also failed to reduce pregnancy, drug use, or arrest rates (Mathematica-Dynarski 1998).

Over the course of a school year, NASDSE-Lange 2002 finds nominal change or a decline on standardized tests among alternative education students in high/middle school.  This review also suggests a possible future stigma on students who attend alternative schools.

Bloom 2010 notes a gap in this area between the strongly held views of practitioners who believe they know what constitutes “best practice” in youth programming and the knowledge base researchers have built from rigorous evaluations.

Implementation Examples

United States

In the 2000-2001 school year, 39% of public school districts had at least one alternative school or program.

Wisconsin

A variety of alternative education programs exist in many school districts across Wisconsin. WI Alternative Education Program legislation (1999) provides funds for grants to school districts and consortia of districts to develop new or expand existing programs or schools. More than 82 school districts also offer WI's GED Option #2 (GEDO #2) Program. This allows authorized school districts to use GED test battery to measure proficiency in lieu of high school credit for students enrolled in an alternative education program. Students who pass GED tests & complete other requirements for graduation are entitled to earn traditional high school diploma. Programs must achieve 80% success rate to continue. Also, several community-based organization partnerships serve as alternative education programs, e.g., Operation Fresh Start in Madison, Wisconsin Fresh Start, and Milwaukee Public Schools' Partnership schools.

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