The effect of a Stand -Alone Freshman Academy on first time ninth graders

The high school graduation rate in Tennessee has failed to meet the state required benchmark of 90%. The state graduation rate in 2003 was 76%, in 2004 it was 75.7%, 2005 it was 77.9%, and in 2006 it was 80.7%. The Tennessee State Department of Education is searching for effective methods to increase the graduation rate for Tennessee high schools. According to Pugh (2003), the decline in the nation\u27s 4-year graduation rate is largely due to problems that start in the freshman year of high school. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a Stand-Alone Freshman Academy on the academic achievement of first time ninth graders in a Middle Tennessee high school. A comparison of one high school\u27s data was scrutinized to determine if a difference existed between first time ninth graders‘ performance in a Stand-Alone Freshman Academy and that of those in a Traditional Freshman Academy in a 9th-12th grade setting. This study attempted to verify whether or not a relationship existed between the academic achievement of students who participated in a Stand-Alone Freshman and those who participated in a Traditional Freshman Academy. Both freshman classes were at the same high school located in the Middle Tennessee area