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The Impact of Pathway Participation for African American

and Latino Students at Skyline High School In Oakland, California

Equity Plan: Part One

EDLD 6000: Professor Lopez

Fall Quarter, 2017

Justin Anderson

Cal-State East Bay

Positioning As An Educator

As an educational leader in the Bay Area, I have had the opportunity to recognize and

realize that there are many stark inequities that occur within our school system. Prior to moving

to Oakland, I taught at a district that lacked ethnic and racial diversity. Not to say that inequities

did not exist in other ways, but I was introduced to the negative impact that a school’s vision and

procedure have on students, primarily African-American and Latino students here in Oakland.

One particular inequity that has been highlighted is the access to engaging and college-to-career

relevant curriculum for students of color. With the rise of linked learning career technical

education pathways, I believe that student outcomes and engagement among black and latino

students will increase and lead to young people seeing success in high school and beyond.

Context

Oakland Unified School District, Skyline High School, and The Pathway Model Data and

Demographics

Skyline High School, Oakland Unified School District’s largest high school, is located in

the Oakland Hills. Seventy-five percent of students are bussed from their neighborhood to attend

the school. Many other students are dropped off. Ninety-five percent of our students live five or

more miles from the school. The school is very diverse ethnically with 39.6% of students

categorized as Latino, 31.4% African-American, 11.6% Asian, 7.6% White, and the remaining

9.8% of students are made up of various ethnicities such as Filipino, Pacific Islander, and

multiple ethnicities. Additionally, 46%of Skyline families list a non-English language as their

preferred home language with Spanish speaking families making up 30% of that total. Finally,
16.5% of Skyline High School students have one or more disabilities and receive special

education services. With all the diversity at Skyline, it has been difficult for the school to offer

equitably engaging curriculum for all students. One way that Skyline has attempted to address

this issue is to offer voluntary opt-in opportunities for students in small learning communities

called “pathways” for grades 10 through 12. Skyline offers three linked learning pathways for

students to select: Computer Science and Technology, Education and Community Health, and

Green Energy and Science.

Table 1

Skyline High School Enrollment By Ethnicity

Skyline High School Enrollment By Skyline High School enrollment by Ethnicity

Ethnicity for the 2015-2016 school year.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District
 Table 2

Home Language Spoken by Skyline High

School Families

Home Languages Spoken By Skyline Skyline High School top 10 home languages

High School Families spoken by families.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

In the late 1990s, Oakland Unified School District began offering engaging and

college-to-career curriculum through pathways. Different schools offered different pathways so

in choosing a high school, students were also potentially choosing a pathway of study. The goal

of the pathways was to offer engaging and thematic curriculum and content for students across

the bulk of their course schedule. A secondary goal was to offer students a potential path toward

career following high school and college. Students are mandated to take a Career Technical
Education elective within their pathway that guides the college-to-career work-based learning

model for the elective and their core academic classes.

These pathways receive state grant funding from the California Partnership Academy

Trust and must meet certain guidelines for the funding. One of the main guidelines is that

pathway academic and elective courses remain “pure” with only students from that particular

pathway. This leads to another goal of pathways, which is the creation of small learning

communities on larger school campuses. Small learning communities (SLC) can have a positive

impact on students and the teachers in the SLC by creating a school within a school where

students develop a more personal relationship with other students and teachers due to the smaller

size of the cohorts. Additionally, cohorts of teachers within pathways can offer more structured

and personalized interventions for students with academic and behavioral struggles, both issues

that impact our African-American and Latino student populations.

Currently, students at Skyline High School have the opportunity to be in a pathway but

must opt into one. It is not mandatory for students to be in a pathway. According to the OUSD

data dashboard for the 2015-2016 school year, this opt-in policy resulted in only 557 out of 1,183

students (tenth-twelfth grade) opting into a pathway (47%). That same year, students that were

in a pathway had higher attendance rates, higher grade point average, and seniors graduated at a

higher rate than students that did not opt into a pathway. Therefore, in order to address the

inequities that exist for students from our African-American and Latino populations in relation to

attendance rates, grade point averages, A-G completion requirements, suspension rates, and

graduation rates, Skyline should require all students to be in a linked learning college-to-career

pathway.
 Table 3

Linked Learning Pathway Enrollment from

2012-2016

Linked Learning Pathway Enrollment Skyline High School pathway enrollment

from 2012-2016 between the years of 2012 to 2016.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

The pathway model offers a strategic opportunity for teachers to help track attendance on

a specific subset of students at the school. It is well known that there is a strong correlation

between attendance rates and student success. Students that attend class regularly are more
likely to be successful as defined by high school completion than students that do not attend class

regularly.

Data Analysis

Comparison in Attendance Rates for Students in Pathways and Students not in Pathways

At Skyline High School, there has been a positive correlation between students that are in

a pathway and higher attendance rates. During the 2015-2016 school year, the 557 pathway

students had an attendance rate of 97.7% compared to that of the 626 students that had an

attendance rate of 96.3%.

Table 4

Attendance Rates for Pathway vs.

Non-Pathway Students
 Attendance Rates For Pathway Vs. Skyline High School attendance rates for

Non-Pathway Students pathway vs. non-pathway students, 10th-12th

grade.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

Additionally, when looking at our African-American student population, students that

were in a pathway had a higher attendance rate than students that were not in a pathway. The

145 African-American pathway students in the tenth through twelfth grade had an attendance

rate of 97.3%. This compares to the 211 African-American non-pathway students in the tenth

through twelfth grade that had an attendance rate of 95.4%.

Table 5

Attendance Rates for Pathway and

Non-Pathway African American

Students
 Attendance rates for Pathway and Skyline High School attendance rates for
African-American pathway and non-pathway
Non-Pathway African American Students students.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

As indicated in the charts above, during the 2015-2016 school year, there was a positive

correlation between attendance rates and students that opted into a pathway. Students benefited

from the pathway model, which allowed for smaller communities of teachers and students to

have a closer and connected relationship. Pathway teachers at Skyline High School benefit from

having one non-teaching class period per day for collaboration. One particular pathway,

Computer Science and Technology, uses one collaboration period per week to go over

attendance data and make phone calls to families for students with attendance concerns.

Additionally, due to the pathway model of offering engaging, college-to-career linked learning

curriculum and work-based learning, students may be more likely to attend class. Spiked interest

in the content is leading to higher attendance rates.

Comparison in Suspension Rates for Students in Pathways and Students not in Pathways

Much like attendance rates, data shows that there is a correlation with attendance rates for

students and pathway participation. Students that participate in pathways have lower on average

suspension rates compared to students that are not in a pathway at Skyline High School. It is
imperative to student success that suspension rates are reduced, especially for our “high risk”

African-American and Latino student population. Being in class is an indicator of student

success (A-G completion and graduation rates) and pathways are demonstrating that this model

is a better approach in supporting non-suspension intervention approaches with students.

At Skyline High School, the data shows that students that participate in linked learning

pathways have lower suspension rates compared to students that do not participate in a pathway.

Specifically during the 2015-2016 school year, the 557 students that opted into a pathway had a

suspension rate of 6.3%. This compares to the 626 non-pathway students’ suspension rate of

10.1%.

Table 6

Suspension Rates for Pathway and

Non-Pathway Students
 Suspension Rates for Pathway and Skyline High School suspension rates for
Non-Pathway Students pathway and non-pathway students.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

Looking closer at our African-American and Latino student population, students that

opted into a pathway had a lower suspension rate than students that were not in a pathway.

Specifically, African-American students in the linked learning pathway had a suspension rate of

10.3% compared to 19% for non-pathway African-American students. Not as significant, but

still reduced, was the suspension rates of linked learning pathway Latino students (8.0%)

compared to non-pathway Latino students (8.4%).

Table 7

Suspension Rates of African-American and Latino Students

 Suspension Rates of African American and Latino Students Skyline High School
(Pathway and Non-Pathway) suspension rates for
African-American
and Latino pathway
and non-pathway
students.

“Data Dashboard”,
2016, ​Oakland
Unified School
District

Much like the causes for increased attendance rates for pathway students, we see a

decrease in suspensions for students in a pathway. Again, the pathway model supports closer

positive relationships between students and staff within a specific pathway in this “school within

a school” structure. Pathways hold Positive Behavior and Intervention assemblies and build in

climate and culture work in supporting improved community. Interventions are at the forefront

of the pathway model and many pathways spend collaboration time holding family conferences

with students, family members, and teachers when behavioral concerns arise. The pathway’s

proactive approach and procedures has had an impact on lower suspension rates.

Comparison of Grade Point Average for Students in Pathways and Students not in

Pathways

The Oakland Unified School District requires students to earn a minimum of a 2.0 grade

point average in order to qualify for district graduation and high school completion. A grade

point average is one of the most important factors that colleges and universities use to determine

acceptance. The data shows that students at Skyline High School that have opted into a pathway
have a higher grade point average while in the pathway compared to students that are not in

pathways. Specifically, tenth through twelfth grade students that are part of a linked learning

pathway earned an average 2.80 grade point average during the 2015-2016 school year. Students

that were non-pathway tenth-twelfth graders earned an average 2.41 grade point average

comparatively.

Table 8

Grade Point Average for Pathway vs.

Non-Pathway Students

Grade Point Average for Pathway Vs. Skyline High School grade point average for
Non-Pathway Students pathway and non-pathway students.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

Looking specifically at our African-American and Latino students, being in a pathway

had an even greater positive impact on the average GPA for these populations. When looking at

the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students during the 2015-2016 school year, pathway

African-American students had an average GPA of 2.66 compared to non-pathway

African-American students that averaged a 2.21 GPA. Similarly for the same grades and same

school year, pathway Latino students had an average GPA of 2.59 compared to non-pathway

Latino students that averaged a 2.12 GPA.

 Table 9

Grade Point Average for African-American

and Latino Pathway and

Non-Pathway Students
Grade Point Average For African Skyline High School grade point average for
American and Latino Pathway and African American and Latino pathway and
Non-Pathway Students non-pathway students.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

With grade point averages being a strong indicator of not only high school graduation,

but also college acceptance, it is imperative for schools to offer a rigorous and college-to-career

curriculum for students and push academic success. Pathways offer support for students, and

teachers typically have academic intervention collaborations to identify tiered lists of students to

support proficient and approaching-proficient students, while creating support plans and goals

for students below and well below proficiency.

Comparison of A-G Completion and Graduation Rates for Students in Pathways and

Students not in Pathways

Finally, when looking at the A-G completion rates and graduation rates for both linked

learning pathway and non-pathway students, pathway students are more likely to graduate from

OUSD and meet the A-G completion requirements than students that are not in a pathway. A-G
requirements are the minimum qualifications that the University of California system has for

students applying to any university. A-G requires students to earn a “C” letter grade or better in

the following content areas: History (2 years), English (4 years), Mathematics (3 years),

Laboratory Science (2 years), Language Other Than English (2 years), Visual/Performing Arts

(1 year), and College Prep Elective (1 year).

Specifically, during the 2015-2016 school year, senior pathway students that began the

school year at Skyline had a graduation rate of 94.3% and an A-G completion rate of 46.5%

compared to non-pathway seniors that had a graduation rate of 89.1% and an A-G completion

rate of 34.3%.

Table 10

Graduation Rate of Pathway and Non-Pathway Senior Students

Graduation Rate of Pathway and Non-Pathway Senior Students Skyline High School
graduation rate for
Senior pathway and
non-pathway
students.

“Data Dashboard”,
2016, ​Oakland
Unified School
District

Table 11

A-G Completion Rate for Pathway and

Non-Pathway Senior Students
 A-G Completion Rate for Pathway and Skyline High School A-G requirement
Non-Pathway Senior Students completion for pathway and non-pathway
students.

“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified

School District

When looking specifically at senior African-American and Latino students, pathway

students had both higher graduation rates and A-G completion rates compared to the

non-pathway students with the exception of graduation rates for African-American seniors

(non-pathway African-American students had a graduation rate of 93.8% compared to pathway

African-American senior graduation rate of 88.6%). Senior Latino pathway students had a

graduation rate of 96.8% compared to 81.6% for non-pathway senior Latino students.

Table 12

Graduation Rates of Senior African-American

and Latino Pathway and

Non-Pathway Students
 Graduation Rates of Senior African
American and Latino Pathway and
Non-Pathway Students
Graduation Rates for African American and
Latino Students
“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified
School District

When looking at A-G requirement completion rates, both pathway African-American and

Latino students outperformed non-pathway African-American and Latino students. Specifically,

during the 2015-2016 African-American pathway seniors had an A-G completion rate of 38.6%

compared to non-pathway African-American seniors who had an A-G completion rate of 27.1%.

Latino pathway seniors had an A-G completion rate of 43.5% compared to non-pathway Latino

seniors who had an A-G completion rate of 21.1%

Table 13

2016 A-G Completion Rate for

African-American and Latino Pathway

and Non-Pathway Seniors

 2016 A-G Completion Rate for African Skyline High School A-G requirement
American completion for African-American and Latino
and Latino Pathway and Non-Pathway pathway and non-pathway students
Seniors
“Data Dashboard”, 2016, ​Oakland Unified
School District

Graduation rates are at the forefront of discussions related to our public schools.

Graduation rates statewide and nationwide are low and this is even more so for

African-American students. Students that are in a linked learning pathway have higher

graduation rates than students that are not in a pathway. The pathway model has created an

intervention structure for students that supports these higher graduation rates.

Additionally, students meeting the A-G requirements put themselves in a position to be

accepted into strong universities and colleges, furthering their future success. The Skyline

pathway model is pushing more students to graduate from OUSD having met these A-G

requirements, which is above and beyond district graduation requirements. In addition to the

CTE elective courses all being A-G electives, the pure content course requirements are pushing

students within the pathway to take the A-G core courses with others from the small learning

community.

A Review of Literature: Linked Learning and Work-Based Learning

 The impact on future success that low attendance rates, high suspension rates, and high

graduation rates have on our African-American and Latino student population in Oakland is

undeniable. Programs like Linked Learning and Career Technical Education Pathways have

shown improved data in these areas at Skyline High School in Oakland.

Similar findings have been seen outside of Oakland in studies looking at linked learning

and the impact that pathways have on student success compared to non-pathway students.

Warner et al.​ ​(2017) reviewed the credits earned by students that were in linked learning

pathways with students that were not in pathways and found that while in linked learning

pathways, English Language Learners earned 15.2 more credits and African-American students

earned 29.3 more credits, more than an additional semesters worth compared to similar students

in traditional high school programs (p. 7).

In the same study, researchers found that on average students with low prior achievement

in certified pathways were 4.1 percentage points less likely to drop out, earned 21.8 more credits,

completed 1.9 more a–g courses, and had GPAs 0.16 points higher than similar peers in

traditional high school programs (Warner et al., 2017, p. 7).

Warner et al. (2017) also found that compared with their peers, more pathway students

(+10 percentage points) reported seeing connections between what they learned in the classroom

and the real world.

Finally, researchers found that linked learning certified pathway students are less likely to

drop out and more likely to graduate than similar students in traditional high school programs.

(Warner et al., 2017, p. 3).

 In the data above from Oakland Unified School District’s Data Dashboard, we noticed

that African-American and Latino linked learning pathway students had a higher overall

attendance rate than their peers not in pathways. ​Allensworth and Easton (2005) found that poor

attendance has serious implications for later outcomes. High school dropouts have been found to

exhibit a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their

childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates (Allensworth & Easton, 2005, p. 22).

Linked learning pathways have found success with supporting higher attendance rates for

students.

Many of the issues that impact our African-American and Latino student population are

not unique to Skyline High School or even Oakland Unified School District. With the positive

impact that pathways are having on these indicators, districts are being forced to look at

pathways as a viable option for supporting at risk student populations. In one study, researchers

Lafors and McGlawn (2013) found

Linked Learning has spurred district leaders to identify previously hidden equity gaps and

set goals around equitable access to coursework. Linked Learning has prompted districts

to examine teaching and learning practices and make positive instructional changes in

their pathways and schools. District leaders and staff praise the support they have

received from both internal and external coaches offered through the initiative. Through

these collective and individualized supports, districts have been able to coordinate efforts

as they implement the initiative. (Lafors & McGlawn, 2013, p. 13)

Summary of Equity Plan, Part 1

Supporting all students, regardless of their zip code or who their loved ones are, must be

at the forefront of schools nationwide. Looking at predictable indicators to determine student

success (attendance rate, grade point average, suspension rates, and graduation rates) is a

common practice for schools in Oakland. Even with the data demonstrating that linked learning

pathways support positive improvements in these indicators, especially for African-American

and Latino student populations, pathways are either optional or non-existent in most schools.

Moving toward mandatory pathways could address these shortcomings and at risk indicators that

plague many of our students.

 References

Allensworth, E. M., & Easton, J. Q. (2005). ​The on-track indicator as a predictor of high school

graduation. ​Chicago, IL: ​The Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Lafors, J., & McGlawn, T. (2013). ​Expanding access, creating options: How linked learning

pathways can mitigate barriers to college and career access in school districts.​ Oakland,

CA: The Education Trust – West.

Oakland Unified School District. (2016). ​OUSD data dashboards​. Oakland, CA: OUSD Office

of Research and Development. Retrieved from ​http://www.ousddata.org/ousd-

employees.html

Warner, M., Caspary, K., Arshan, N., Stites, R., Padilla, C., Patel, D., McCracken, M., Harless,

E., Park, C., Fahimuddin, L., & Adelman, N. (2016). ​Taking stock of the California

Linked Learning District Initiative.​ ​Seventh-year evaluation report.​ Menlo Park, CA: SRI

International