Snapshot of a district's high school magnet program
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of magnet programs on high school students and at what cost. Presently in the United States, one in four high school students is dropping out of high school which translates into 2,500 students per day. Research studies have found that students drop out of high school because they encounter apathetic teachers, poor curricular offerings, unfriendly school environments, and ineffective administrative leadership. Historically, magnet schools evolved from "schools of choice" in the 1970s. Defined as public schools dedicated to providing quality education while reducing, preventing, or eliminating racial segregation, they offered curricula unique enough to attract or magnetize students to a particular school from the entire district. The magnet schools of today are usually located in urban areas, possess highly qualified teachers, and provide an enriched curriculum built into a theme selected by the school community. However, magnet schools are costly to implement and require money to maintain the unique curricula. The question is how effective are high school magnet programs in supporting students' academic success and how costly are the thematic magnet programs to implement and maintain? This study investigated magnet high schools in an urban District in a Midwestern state. All four high schools in the District contain a school-within-a-school magnet model and offer magnet themes of: (1) International Baccalaureate and Global Studies, (2) Visual and Performing Arts, (3) Engineering and Technology, and (4) Medical and Allied Health Sciences. The District received a federal magnet grant to implement and maintain the magnet high schools four years ago and now must decide how effective the program has been and if it should continue in its present form. This mixed-methods research study design began with the quantitative portion. Archived data were examined to determine if the magnet program had impacted student achievement as measured in standardized test scores. In addition, the data were used to examine the budget over the past four years and to compare the cost of the different thematic programs for variation. To add richness to this study, the qualitative portion was added using the theoretical framework of phenomenology to understand the lived experiences of the high school magnet students. The quantitative research findings provide insight into the academic achievement of magnet versus non-magnet students as based on the State's standardized English and mathematics ISTEP+ test scores using three levels of comparison: (1) a district-wide comparison of the magnet students versus non-magnet students' 10th grade ISTEP+ English and mathematics scores, (2) a comparison of magnet student versus non-magnet students' 10th grade ISTEP+ English and mathematics test scores, and (3) a comparison of the rise in English and mathematics ISTEP+ test scores between 8th and 10 th grade by matching magnet and non-magnet students within each high school by their free/reduced lunch status, gender, race, and 8th grade ISTEP+ test scores. In addition, the per student cost among the four magnet programs was compared. The qualitative portion of this study includes interviews of six students, who shared their stories about their magnet school experiences. These findings provide answers to the cost effectiveness of magnet programs, most necessary to those planning on implementing a magnet program. Second, the findings provide information to how effective magnet programs are in improving student achievement. Finally, rich information is provided on effective design and implementation of magnet programs as students share their stories telling why they enrolled in a magnet program and how the program has impacted their lives.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Hirth, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Secondary education|Curriculum development
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