Publications & Resources

Evaluation of Green Dot’s Locke Transformation Project: Findings from the 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10 School Years

Jul 2011

Joan L. Herman, Jordan Rickles, Mark Hansen, Larry Thomas, Alice Gualpa and Jia Wang

In the fall of 2007, Alain Leroy Locke High School, historically one of California’s lowest performing secondary schools, began its transition into a set of smaller, Green Dot Charter High Schools. This report summarizes early CRESST evaluation findings, examining how Green Dot Locke (GDL) students were performing in terms of school persistence, attendance, course-taking and completion, and achievement on standardized tests. CRESST found positive early trends. Relative to comparison high schools, GDL students’ overall total enrollment in core courses increased over the years. GDL pass rates increased for particular courses and California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) scores continued to rise. The results from matched samples suggest that on various student outcome measures, 9th graders who entered GDL often did better than (and at least as well as) they would have if they attended a comparable LAUSD high school. Given the progressive pattern of increasing results for each new group of entering students, broader effects will be observed as current students progress through high school and on to graduation.

Herman, J. L., Rickles, J., Hansen, M., Thomas, L., Gualpa, A., & Wang, J. (2011). Evaluation of Green Dot’s Locke Transformation Project: Findings from the 2007-08, 2008- 09, and 2009-10 school years (CRESST Report 799). Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).