Grade point average, attendance, tardiness, and discipline in the freshman academy program

Abstract

In order to enhance student learning, school systems across the country are implementing creative strategies to reduce the size of schools and explore the advantages of reducing the size of existing school structures. These approaches evidence school officials' general efforts to improve the grade point average, attendance, and discipline of high school students, which include ninth graders.|The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the Freshman Academy Program (FAP) on grade point average, attendance, tardiness, and discipline while using a curricular block schedule. The FAP was implemented in the school system in the 1997- 1998 school year. Dependent variables examined included: 1) academic grade point average, 2) attendance, 3) tardiness, and 4) out-of-school suspensions. Information was gathered from a high school in Georgia that uses the Freshman Academy Program and compared to another high school that uses a traditional ninth grade program in the same district. The comparison was selected based on similar enrollment, minority composition, and socio-economic status.|There was a statistically significant difference in the grade point average, attendance, tardiness, and out-of-school suspensions due to student misbehavior of students who participated in a Freshman Academy Program. Specifically, the Freshman Academy Program proved to be less effective than the traditional program when comparing grade point averages and student tardiness. However, it was more effective when comparing student absenteeism and the number of days students were suspended out-of-school due to misbehavior.