Table of contentsMethodologyDataResultsModified parental preferencesPresence of final examsEnd of ninth year optionsConclusionThis report aims to synthesize the conclusions of Dominique Goux, Marc Gurgand and Eric Maurin on school dropouts. Other publications focus on changing students' academic performance to prevent dropout; however, this study examines the idea of ​​changing expectations for future academic choices. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay School dropout is a significant problem in our society today. The world has become more and more competitive; it is therefore essential to have a solid educational background to guarantee employment. Dominique Goux, Marc Gurgand and Eric Maurin discuss how formulating educational expectations for low-performing students leads to a reduction in the dropout and repetition rate. They changed the expectations of students and parents thanks to a non-intensive experiment carried out in France and facilitated by the principals of 37 schools. One of the main causes of dropout behavior is the failure to develop realistic educational goals. The economic literature views school as an investment: if the immediate costs are greater than the expected gains, this leads to a greater number of adolescents dropping out of school. The article is important because it highlights how a low-cost, principal-facilitated intervention can lead to a decline in high school dropouts. Parent-teacher interaction is important and researchers have highlighted it as a way to change the aspirations of low-achieving adolescents. The article is also important because it shows that if a student changes their educational expectations, it could potentially prevent them from dropping out in the future. In many countries, after grade 9, students must apply to a new type of school. These are generally prestigious university and professional schools. Upon completion of middle school in France, students can either enroll in a highly selective three-year academic program or enter a vocational school offering two- and three-year programs. An assignment system in France assigns students to their preferred choice using average grades achieved in key subjects. The two three-year programs provide access to higher education for students. It is therefore more prestigious than the two-year program. Additionally, students could drop out of the education system altogether and undertake an apprenticeship. Generally, to reduce dropout rates, schools can impose strict activities on students to improve their academic performance. However, this is not the case in this study. The researchers conducted a large study. Large-scale randomized experiment targeting low-performing students. The school principals facilitated the experience, this allowed students to apply for different streams (options after 9th grade) based on their academic results. There were two meetings between parents and teachers, the results showed a reduction in repetition and dropout rates. The results also show that more teenagers are applying to vocational programs and two-year apprenticeships. The findings mean it may not be worth trying to change a student's academic record; instead, schools should focus on changing student and parent expectations regardingfuture choices, while taking into account their academic abilities. This results in a higher number of students applying to the two-year professional course; thus, the principal modified his expectations and preferences based on the students' academic abilities. Other researchers have focused more on high-ability students who under-estimate their potential, whereas this article focuses on low-ability students who over-estimate their potential, thus providing new evidence on how changing expectations can lead to a reduction in school dropout rates. Additionally, many other dropout prevention policies include financial incentives and academic support, which is why the conducted experiment contributes to the literature on school dropout rates. The article is supported by other research such as that of Stinebrickner and Stinebrickner (2009), who also found that unrealistic expectations regarding college entry led to higher dropout rates at American universities. Additionally, other publications support the idea that unrealistic expectations lead to poor student outcomes, such as the research of Gottfredson 1981. Methodology The experiment took place in Paris within the local academy which has 1.1 million students. 37 schools participated, representing 9% of the total schools in the district. The working-class neighborhoods of Paris are largely represented in the sample. At the start of the school year, the principles randomly selected 25% of students most at risk of dropping out. Principals based their selection on the academic abilities of the students, with those selected having the lowest grades. More than half of the students selected had already repeated a school year. Preselected students were randomized into treatment and control classes by Goux et al. The researchers assigned half of the classes to the treatment group and the other half to a control group. Randomization was stratified according to the number of preselected students, the number of girls and the number of students who had already repeated a grade. In total, there were 97 treatment classes and 82 control classes. There were no significant differences between the treated and control classes in terms of characteristics. Only parents from the 97 treatment classes were invited to attend the meetings. The results are based on a comparison between the treatment and control groups of pre-selected students. After each group separated, the experimenter invited the parents of the preselected students within the treatment group to have two meetings with the principal regarding their children's future major choice. (options after 9th grade). The reason for these meetings is that they allow parents to be involved in the future of their children. The meetings took place in January and April before 6 a.m. during term time. LEA experts helped prepare directors with meeting guidelines. These include the academic future of parents' children, application procedures for the next education route and how parents can help. The guidelines included identifying family aspirations; however, only with respect to the child's academic performance. The principles made it possible to adjust expectations based on the academic performance of adolescents. For example, a principal may suggest the idea of ​​an apprenticeship for a student who is at risk of dropping out or repeating a year. The program helps parents understand that two-year professional degrees can be a goodoption and that they can be more adapted to their children who must continually repeat 9th grade. The directors only invited the parents of the children pre-selected into the treatment. group, not the control group. This is indicated on the attendance sheet. It shows that participation is only important for students pre-selected into the treatment groups. Goux et al. found that 52% of parents attended one of the meetings and 21% attended both. Only a tiny portion of the uninvited families showed up. This shows that the principal made an effort to call and invite the parents of the students screened into the treatment group. DataResearchers collected data from schools during the 2010-2011 school year. The data includes the student's grades in key subjects such as maths and English. This is very important as these two subjects are key indicators of whether a student will get their preferred choice of school/learning after Year 9. The researchers also collected attendance and grade on the national end-of-year exam for everyone in 9th grade. The exam is not mandatory and does not determine whether students will obtain one of their preferred school choices after 9th grade. The exam takes place on the last day of the academic year and some students are absent on that day, although on that day most students know if they have been accepted into their preferred major. The researchers found that absence that day was higher among dropouts. The next part of the data is a questionnaire that parents are asked to complete. The questionnaire included questions about how parents get involved in their children's future and how they can connect with teachers at schools. One of the questions also included their children's educational expectations, etc. To increase the response rate, the researchers called the non-respondents of the pre-selected students and asked them the same series of questions. In addition, the authors took comprehensive administrative data. which provides information about each student's application and assignment process. The data includes applications for the four preferred choices at the end of the year, and researchers know the rank of each choice and the type of school/program. They also know if a student has appealed a decision or decided to retake 9th grade. The data also includes the student's location one year after the year of treatment (meetings) and even two years after. This uses each student's national identification number. Researchers can then find out who is still in school, learning and who has dropped out of the system completely. ResultsY_(is = αT_i + X_is β+ U_S +V_s )The authors analyzed the effect of meetings using the following model above. They focused on shortlisted students. T_i Is the dummy variable (0 or 1) indicating whether a student is in a treatment class or not. X_is is a vector of control variables that include dummies for a variety of different student characteristics. The other two variables are school fixed effects and the potential error term. Changed Parental Preferences By the end of treatment, parents were heavily involved in their children's educational careers. Academic aspirations changed depending on the adolescent's academic record. This is seen in the options chosen by adolescents at the end of the third term. The results of the experiment suggest that parents adapted their expectations based on their children's academic performance. The researchers havefound an 8% reduction in the number of parents expecting their child to complete a three-year academic/vocational program leading to higher education (comparing treatment and control classes). The researchers also found a 3.4 percentage point increase in the number of parents hoping to complete a two-year job training course. This highlights that the results show a change in academic expectations through meetings with the principal. The results of the article also suggest that very few parents expect their children to drop out of school, whether they are in the control group or the treatment group, which is consistent with the idea that Parents' expectations regarding their child's dropping out of school are extremely rare. Indeed, parents understand the problems of finding a job if their child were to drop out of high school. Attendance at the final exam Final college exam C T-CF Failed but present on the day of the exam 44.8 +6.7**Not present on the day of the exam 10.6 -5 ,4**Researchers collected information on the number of students who sat for and passed the national high school exam. The exam is not compulsory and the results are not taken into account. Most students know which academic track they will be in for the next two or three years before this exam. This allows schools to know, on that day, which academic track each student is in. This means that students who do not appear for the exam are likely to be potential dropouts. Table 1 has two columns, C which is the value of the preselected control group and TC which is the dummy value of the treatment. The results of the article show that students preselected in the control group have higher absentee attendance (10.6%) compared to the treated group (5.2% or 10.6 – 5.4 = 5.2) . There was no increase in academic performance of those who attended school compared to those who did not. This shows that the students who came forward wanted to know what academic path they would follow in the future, meaning they are less likely to drop out. Furthermore, this shows that the experience had an effect on the possible prevention of school dropout for students pre-selected into the treatment group. Options at the end of the ninth yearC T-CA applicationsAt least one two-year professional program 15.8 +4.9Two years professional – first choice 11 + 3.8Two years professional – no first choice 4.8 +1.1It was found that the experience had small effects on students' academic achievement. The real goal of treatment was not to change academic performance but to change students' expectations regarding their academic records. There was no increase in the number of shortlisted students applying for a three-year programme, but this is to be expected as children's expectations may have changed during these meetings. Table 2 has two columns, C which refers to the mean value of the preselected students in the control group and TC which is the treatment dummy value. The number of shortlisted students who included two years of professional training in their application increased by 4.9 percentage points. This is also a drop in the number of students who applied for three-year vocational courses and students who repeated a year. Two-year courses are easier to accept; This therefore shows that the meetings organized by school directors were able to allow students to modify their expectations and apply for two-year courses.