MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Dustin Dwight Hornbeck Candidate for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy ______________________________________ Dr. Joel R. Malin, Director ______________________________________ Dr. Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Reader ______________________________________ Dr. Kate Rousmaniere, Reader ______________________________________ Dr. Thomas Misco, Graduate School Representative ABSTRACT OUTSOURCING THE TWELFTH-GRADE YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY by Dustin Dwight Hornbeck This dissertation study attempts to answer questions about the way in which the twelfth- grade year of high school is changing, particularly in relation to the proliferation of student curricular choices that is underway in many public high schools. Case study methodology was utilized, using a case (a public high school in Southwest Ohio) that one might consider as typical based on its size and student/family demographics and characteristics. Within the school district and high school that was chosen as the case for this project, interviews and focus groups were conducted with staff members, board of education members, students, and parents. Additionally, records and documents that pertained to this study were analyzed and ethnographic observation was recorded. The major finding of this study is that the twelfth-grade students under study in this case—as a result of changing national, state, and local policies—are increasingly selecting curricular/programming options that occur outside of the high school, in effect outsourcing large portions of their twelfth-grade experiences. The out-of-school options students selected include college courses through Ohio’s College Credit Plus Program (dual enrollment), online courses offered through the local high school, career technical options, and the option to take fewer classes through a policy or a practice that is known as flex. It was also noted that some students reported or intended to graduate early upon finishing coursework, a possibility that has been made less difficult with online learning options within the district. The reality is that when students reach their final year of high school, or before, students are largely expected to engage in curricular options that take place outside of the high school, away from their peers. The outsourced options available shift the purpose of the public high school away from one of its longstanding objectives: preparing students for citizenship and life in a democratic society. This study finds that in one case, educational policies are leading students away from the public space of the public high school and tracking them in specific college and career tracks, changing the twelfth-grade year, and the rest of the high school experience. OUTSOURCING THE TWELFTH-GRADE YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL?: A CASE STUDY A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Educational Leadership by Dustin Dwight Hornbeck The Graduate School Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2019 Dissertation Director: Joel R. Malin © Dustin Dwight Hornbeck 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables………………………………………………………….……iv List of Figures……………………………………………………….……...v Dedication………………………………………………………….……….vi Acknowledgements…………………………………………….…………...vii List of Abbreviations………………………………………….……………viii Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………..1 Chapter 2: Review of Literature……………………………………………14 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework…………………………………...…….45 Chapter 4: Methodology……………………………………………...…….49 Chapter 5: Results…………………………………………………………..67 Chapter 6: Discussion………………………………………………...…….119 References………………………………………………………....………..144 Appendices………………………………………………………………….152 iii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Conant Report Recommendations………………………………………….27 2 Research Participants from Pontiac High School………...…………….….57 3 Breakdown of Student Choice at Pontiac High School…………..…......…77 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure PAGE 1 Secondary Enrollment…………………………………………20 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANAR A Nation at Risk CCP College Credit Plus CCR College and Career Readiness Committee of Ten Committee of Ten on Secondary School Studies CRSE Commission to Reorganize Secondary Education CTE Career and Technical Education ECS Education Commission of the States ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act ESSA Every Student Succeeds Act NCHSSY National Commission on the High School Senior Year NCLB No Child Left Behind NEA National Education Association STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics USGAO U.S. Government Accountability Office vi DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my late father, Sanford Hornbeck. He taught me that perseverance through adversity is what gives meaning to life, and that to just exist, is no life at all. Through his many health struggles, he maintained a sense of conviction and joy that inspires me today. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people who have helped me on the road to the completion of this dissertation study. First, I want to thank my advisor, Dr. Joel Malin. Dr. Malin has been a supportive, helpful, caring, and instructive mentor during my time in the Ph.D. program at Miami. Dr. Malin’s meticulous feedback and attention to detail have made me a better scholar. I cannot say enough about how appreciative I am for his support during this program, as he went far above any expectations I could have had for the role of advisor. Thank you so much! Secondly, I am indebted to my dissertation committee who has provided sagacious counsel throughout the entire dissertation process. Dr. Kathleen Knight Abowitz has been an incredible mentor during my time in the Ph.D. program. Her intellect, kind disposition, and expertise has made this program a joy. I have learned a great deal from Kathleen despite never taking a class with her. Thank you so much for your advice and collaboration. Dr. Kate Rousmaniere has been a wonderful teacher and mentor. Thank you, Dr. Kate, for your methodological and historical expertise you have provided throughout this program. Finally, thank you to Dr. Thomas Misco for all of your support, proof-reading, editing, and advice. Your intelligent feedback has enriched my scholarship and made a better thinker as a result. viii Chapter 1- Introduction In 2001, the National Commission on the High School Senior Year (NCHSSY), a joint effort of the United States Department of Education and several philanthropic organizations, released a report titled, The Lost Opportunity of the Senior Year: Finding a Better Way. This report condemned the twelfth-grade year of the comprehensive public high school as old-fashioned, out of date, aimless, boring, and a lost opportunity (NCHSSY, 2001). This report’s release coincided with major educational policy shifts in the United States (U.S.), including the expansion of school choice, the academic content standards movement, the accountability movement, and many other changes implemented during the reform era (Ravitch, 2016). The NCHSSY (2001) referenced qualitative interviews with recent high school graduates that suggested students were not interested in the prescribed curriculum of their high schools, in part because the offerings were not going to help them once they joined the workforce and began their adult lives. Around the same time that the NCHSSY was collecting data, Bard College President Leon Botstein (1999), published an op-ed in the New York Times arguing that the high school had become obsolete and that students should be able to explore adulthood earlier than the current constraints of high school dictate. Botstein (1999) suggested that the senior year should be moved to what is now the tenth-grade, and that less emphasis should be placed on sports as a driving cultural binding agent within the high school. Botstein’s and others’ similar ideas have gained momentum in some circles since this time, for example with several states adopting policies to offer scholarships to students who could graduate from high school ahead of schedule (Shellenbarger, 2012). In Indiana, for instance, the Mitch Daniels Scholarship offers each student $4,000.00 toward college tuition at a state institution of higher education if the student graduates early (Shellenbarger, 2012). It is common in the European lycée/Gymnasium schooling model for students to finish secondary level school at the age of 16 before they work toward a baccalaureate degree or elect to take another career path. However, comprehensive public high school has been the model for secondary education in the U.S. for more than 75 years, and all students are legally required to attend high school, making the issue of how to structure and sequence high school central to the lives of 1 millions of youths and their caregivers (Anderson, 2004; Angus & Mirel, 1999; Europaea, 2011; Krug, 1964). Within the four-year frame of high school as traditionally structured in the U.S., the twelfth-grade year is the final year of study prior to graduating and receiving a diploma. Some scholars have argued that a flaw of the twelfth-grade is a lack of (or insufficient) rigor and focus of curricular options for students, which in turn contributes to a lack of student engagement (Bailey, 1975; Kirst, 2001; Sizer, 2001; Haught, 2008). Kirst (2001) titled this problem the “senior slump” (p.1), which he understood to represent many seniors’ lack of academic focus resulting from scant or uninteresting