About Freshmen On Track
Almost one third of our nation’s students drop out of high school (Barton, 2005) , and students that are at risk of doing so begin to show signs early in their education ( Jessica B. Heppen and Susan Bowles Therriault,2006) . According to recent research, 9 th grade may be the last chance that we have as educators to step in and intervene. Studies show that "students are three to five times more likely to fail freshman year than any other grade”, and the impact of that on their future success is staggering (February 2011 Research Brief: Challenges of the Ninth Grade Transition, 2011) . According to the Consortium on Chicago School Research, students with a “B” average at the end of their 9 th grade year have a 95% chance of graduating on time. Students with a “C” average at the end of their 9 th grade year have a 72% chance of graduating and if a freshman ends their first year with a “D” average, they have less than a 28% chance of four year graduation (Allensworth, E. and