The choice to drop out of high school often follows a progression of disengagement from school (Bridgeland, Dilulio, and Morison, 2006). Students often begin this process as a result of attendance challenges, disciplinary consequences, and persistent failure in traditional learning environments (Bridgeland et al., 2006; Fenning et al., 2012; Foley and Pang, 2006). School divisions face federal and state mandates to improve graduation rates and are under pressure to reform educational practices in an effort to lower the dropout rate (Picciano, Seaman, Shea, and Swan, 2012). School districts around the country have sought to diminish dropout rates through a variety of strategies. The collective goal in all of the initiatives is to redefine the high school experience for students who do not fit the traditional model, connecting them with alternative learning opportunities so as to best meet individual needs (Ferdig, 2010; Carver, Lewis, and Tice, 2010). Online credit recovery programs have the potential to re-connect students at risk of dropping out of high school through technological interactivity, personalization, and immediate feedback (Ferdig, 2010; Watson and Gemin, 2008). This study identified 97 Virginia school divisions offering online credit recovery programs to students identified as at-risk. This dissertation examined the relationship between the use of online credit recovery programs and on-time graduation rates in the Virginia and found an increase in the on-time graduation rates in the school divisions that implemented this strategy. The researcher also examined the various models used throughout the Commonwealth and found a variety of implementation strategies used by school divisions. However data indicated no significant difference in the Virginia on-time graduation rates when comparing the different program implementation measures. / Ed. D. / Students often begin to entertain the ides of dropping out after a process of attendance challenges, disciplinary consequences, and persistent failure in traditional learning environments. School divisions face federal and state mandates to improve graduation rates and are under pressure to reform educational practices in an effort to lower the dropout rate. School districts around the country have sought to diminish dropout rates through a variety of strategies. The collective goal in all of the initiatives is to redefine the high school experience for students who do not fit the traditional model, connecting them with alternative learning opportunities so as to best meet individual needs. Online credit recovery programs have the potential to re-connect students at risk of dropping out of high school through the use of technology, personalization, and immediate feedback. This study identified Virginia school divisions offering online credit recovery programs to students identified as at-risk of dropping out of high school. The relationship between the implementation of online credit recovery programs and on-time graduation rates in the Commonwealth of Virginia was examined to determine the impact of this intervention strategy. This study identified 97 school divisions currently offer an online credit recovery program. Findings indicated an increase in graduation rates for school divisions using this intervention strategy. The researcher also examined various implementation models and found no significant difference in graduation rates when comparing implementation measures.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/86146 |
| Date | 02 June 2017 |
| Creators | Wyatt, Wendy Sue |
| Contributors | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Cash, Carol S., Price, Ted S., Childress, Toni Leigh Pardue, Kelly, Michael D. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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