SEMY working to enhance
migrant student success
in PASS courses

By Ken Harvey & Carol Hansen Devine

In 2006-07, the Washington State PASS Program helped migrant students in Washington earn an estimated 380 credits in 1,400 courses needed to graduate from high school. 

“The PASS curriculum meets the needs of our migrant youth exceedingly well, but it takes the collective effort of many individuals to make PASS work effectively,” says Linda Roberts, Director of SEMY, which administers the program in Washington.

Educators in 30 states serving 16,000 PASS students nationwide are sharing best practices with one another to improve achievement of credit-deficient students. 

“Our state is being asked by others across the nation to provide models, coaching and information on how our schools increase their PASS completion rates,” says Roberts.

SEMY’s website, www.semy.org, provides the state’s PASS Program Design Guide and other state-of-the-art reference documents, accessible to all PASS educators.

Data drives SEMY’s recommendations to districts.  For example, a study of 49 districts conducted by doctoral candidate Ken Harvey on behalf of the Washington State Migrant Education Program was designed to answer such questions as: Is migrant student success in PASS related to how the curriculum is delivered in a school?  What is the most cost-effective way to support students enrolled in this high school credit alternative?

Harvey used phone survey data to determine models used by schools and discover how much staff time was being expended per student.  That information was compared with data routinely gathered by SEMY related to students enrolled, completion rates and test scores. The analysis yielded surprising results.

Model A – Independent Learner -- the most prevalent model, has a PASS Contact Person (“CP”) assign PASS units, answer student questions, and proctor online unit tests.  Least efficient in terms of staff hours invested per credit earned, Model A was also the least effective in terms of average test score. 

The least-used model -- Model D, Small Group Instruction – was the most cost-effective, requiring far less staff time per credit granted, achieving about double the completion rate of the other three models, and achieving the highest test scores – about 14 percentage points higher than Model A, as shown below: 

 Table 1.  Efficiency and effectiveness of four PASS curriculum delivery models identified in 49 Washington school districts, 2004/5 regular school year.

Several variables beyond the scope of the study – such as relative course difficulty, student mastery of prerequisite skills, and previous success in the content area -- limit the study’s ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships. Even so, the increase of 14 percentage points (two letter grades) in average test scores using Model D compared to Model A is of great interest to many Washington districts.

Besides looking at the model a school uses in providing mentoring assistance, PASS Program Facilitator Carol Hansen Devine makes the following suggestions to school officials seeking to improve migrant student success in PASS.  To achieve the highest success, PASS CPs and their school staff should provide:

* A holistic program plan that addresses all the needs of their students, provides access to mainstream classrooms and other support activities, and offers PASS as a viable alternative as delivered through a comprehensive program planning process (model D).

* Student screening and proper placement. Does a student have the prerequisite skills to succeed? Is he placed in the proper course?

* Student motivation. Is the prospective PASS student motivated to earn credits because he understands the impact on his future? 

* Parental involvement. Parent involvement is important. Requiring students and parents to sign a learning contract helps.

* Structured instructional support. Does the student have assistance in the content area available when needed?  This could include access to a teacher or mentoring by a peer or by a community volunteer. 

* Staff and student performance data. This data holds the educator and school accountable. SEMY provides Washington schools online goal report cards through its computerized record system.

* Student motivator activities such as food, fun and social interaction with peers; linkage with goals and career awareness to “make it real”; and, most importantly,  having a caring educator, parent or mentor who goes the extra mile all help ensure that the student succeeds.

The seven-page “Cost-Effectiveness and Instructional Delivery Study” and other support materials to help schools improve migrant student success through PASS are available to download at www.semy.org.