An Evaluation of the Tardy Room Programat Muncie Central High School

by Danhua Kong

Rationale

MethodsResults: Tardy Comparison

Discussion

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1256

270

2010 2011

OVERALL REDUCTION

79%

1ST 2D 3D 4TH SUCCESS 5TH A 5TH B 6TH 7TH0

5

10

15

20

25

17.3

9.3

12.3

11

8 8

3.7

10.3

9.3

20.3

9.9

7.9

10.5

14.2

3.5

3

7.8

5.6

19

6.2 7

4.4 5.

1

2.7

1.3

5.4

4.8

13.7

6

5.5

4.5 4.8

2 1.9 3.

8

2.8

AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

0

50

100

150

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250

214

128

54

21

59

121 0

72%Reduction

91%Reduction

98%Reduction

100%Reduction

6 Tardies 8 Tardies 9 Tardies0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2480

389

2010-2011 2011-2012

White68%

Black20%

Asian1%

Hispanic2%

Multiracial8% Other Ethnicity

1%

Participants' Demographics

Participants:• All students enrolled in CHS: 843• 408 male students and 438 female students• 198 in 9th grade, 214 in 10th grade, 210 in 11th grade, and 221 in 12th

grade

Procedure:• Students who were not at class when the bell rings were considered

tardy and they would be requested to go to the Tardy Room—Student cafeteria—till the next period.

• Tardy students were recorded by teachers on duty in the tardy room by period.

• Students who had at least 4 tardies would be referred to the Student Service or Assistant Principal with written referrals from the teacher in the Tardy Room.

• Tardy students would work on course related assignments placed by the teacher of the class he/she was missing. However, they were expected to pick up the exact missing assignments during the day or the day after.

Measurement:• The number of referrals collected by the Assistant Principal and the

Tardy Form by period was used as data to analyze the situation of tardiness at CHS.

• The number of referrals for 4 tardies, 6 tardies, 8 tardies, and 9 tardies that CHS had before and after the program was implemented were compared: monthly comparison between the school year 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, and the school year 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. The tardy information from the Tardy Forms were collected and input into the digital school system by the attendance secretary.

• The administrators collected and analyzed the data from referrals and the digital school system with assistance of data analysis software.

1st Semester 2010/2011Tardy by Period

August through November 2011

March 2011-March 2012 September 2011-March 2012

The school year of 2010-2011 witnessed an

acceleration of discipline issues at Muncie Central

High School, including inflated number of referrals

and in-school suspension (ISS). This situation

unquestionably resulted in a significant loss of

instructional time that was supported to be used

to facilitate students’ positive development

academically, occupationally, and personally/

socially.

Among all of these issues, repeated tardiness

adversely impacted administers, teachers, and

students to the most extent. Not being able to

arrive in the classroom on time, or lacking the

motivation to attend classes, indicated and thus

further induced a school atmosphere that hindered

students from pursuing knowledge. Once classes

were frequently interrupted by tardy students,

teachers couldn’t focus on instruction; instead,

they needed to spend a considerable amount of

time to write referrals. Most importantly, this

issue was damaging teachers’ moral concerning

dedication to education. The administration, as

well, was occupied by referrals and other problems

associated with it, therefore, their instructional

leadership could not be evident.

In order to reset the school culture, the 8-step

team—comprised of faculty members and

administrators—came up with the Tardy Room

Program. With a sense of urgency and realization

of the importance of bell-to-bell instruction, the

administration of Muncie Central High School

implemented the Tardy Room Program in August

2011—the beginning of the school year 2011-2012

—with the purpose to curb the tardy issue. All

staff were engaged in the program

Positive Outcome:• The overall reduction of tardy from the school year 2010-2011 to the

school year 2011-2012 was 84%.• Great reduction of student referrals from 5546 in the first semester of

school year 2010-2011 to 2191 in the first semester of school year 2011-2012.

Further Considerations:• Student report indicated that some students were deliberately tardy

in order to skip classes.• Some teachers may not accept make-up work which is different from

the assignments in the tardy room, resulting in students’ drop in grades.

• These students may not be willing to ask teachers for the missing

assignments or course information that they missed.

Recommendations:• Refer students who are constantly tardy to the guidance counselor• An agreed-upon policy concerning make-up work and assignments in

the Tardy Room may be needed as a part of the consistent school regulation system.

0

200

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800

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1256

258

2010 2011

September/ December 2010/ 2011

OVERALL REDUCTION

79%

84% Reduction

4 Tardies

Year 2010-2011 Year 2011-20120

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Discipline Referrals

2191

Discipline Referrals 2010/2011

OVERALL REDUCTION

60%5546