Why Worry About Ninth Graders?
by Ann Stoltz, PhD
As educators, we all made the transition to high school, and although not without its struggles, we all survived and continued on a school-to-career path. There are students, however, that are not as fortunate and for these students, their financial, health, and social lives suffer greatly. The scheduled transition to high school presents a predictable period of stress for adolescents and has been shown to decrease academic achievement and interrupt social adjustment, contributing to criminal behavior and drug use (Jason et al., 1992; Alspaugh, 2001; Isakson & Jarvis, 1999; Felner, Ginter, & Primavera, 1982; Koizumi, 2000; Felner & Adan, 1988).
A poor transition to high school has been demonstrated to result in:
- a decrease in academic achievement (Neil & Weiss, 1999; Alspaugh, 2001; McGee, Ward, Gibbons, & Harlow; 2004, Stoltz, 2005),
- a drop in school attendance (Seidman, Aber, Allen, & French, 1996; Felner, Gintner, & Primavera, 1982; Simmons & Blyth, 1987; Barone, Aguirre-Deandreis, & Trickett, 1999; Isakson & Jarvis, 1999; Felner, Primavera, & Cauce, 1981; Stoltz, 2005),
- an increase in discipline infractions (Weldy, 1990) and the dropout rate (Roderick, 1994, Alspaugh, 1998, Neild, Stoner-Eby, & Furstenber, 2002), and
- decreased participation in extracurricular activities (Gifford & Dean, 1990).
Changes affecting 9th grade students include the, (a) physical environment, (b) social structure, (c) increasing academic demands, (d) increased tracking by academic level, (e) revising of peer groups, and (f) influence of older peers. Multi-level changes occurring simultaneously affect students in different ways (Simmons, Burgeson, Carlton-Ford, & Blyth, 1987). For some, this point in time ushers in risk-taking behaviors that lead the student down a path to academic failure and subsequent school drop out. Although not without its challenges, the majority of adolescents navigate this transitional period successfully (Fuligni, Eccles, Barber, & Clements, 2001). For others, however, a drop in grade point average (GPA) and attendance are just two of the documented outcomes that may result from the transition. Although, most students regain GPA in the second year of high school, it is not known if what is lost in achievement in the first year is ever fully recovered.
“The experience of the ninth grade year contributes substantially to the probability of dropping out, despite controls for demographic and family background characteristics, previous school performance, and pre high school attitudes and ambitions” (p. 29).
Educators must recognize the challenges facing 9th graders and implement programs to minimize the negative effects on achievement during the transition to high school.