Dan Pyle

​Dan Pyle, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Weber State University. Prior to arriving at Weber State University, Dan completed a post-doctoral fellowship at San Diego State University. Dan earned his Ph.D. at Utah State University in the Special Education and Rehabilitation department. He has worked as a special education inclusion support teacher in secondary schools for 12 years of which he has had the unique opportunity to open a fully inclusive, comprehensive high school in southeast San Diego, CA. His research interests include peer-mediated interventions, multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS) and evidence-based instructional supports and services to improve academic and behavioral outcomes for secondary students with disabilities accessing general education settings.

AAPF19 Session

A Systematic Review of Academic Interventions for Students in Alternative High Schools: A Review of Evidence under ESSA
​Presenters will inform participants about the rationale, methods, and findings of a systematic review of academic interventions implemented with students ages 14 to 22 who attend alternative high schools. There is a need to review the available research of academic interventions implemented in alternative high schools and identify which instructional practices are most effective from improving outcomes for this population in these contexts. To date, no systematic review that addresses the effectiveness of academic interventions with students who attend alternative high schools is available.

Our findings are limited to the inconsistent reporting of intervention characteristics. Overall, the academic interventions resulted in favorable academic outcomes. However, the studies were of low methodological quality. Researchers infrequently reported fidelity of implementation which limits our understanding if the intervention was delivered with quality as it was intended. Further, few researchers administered standardized measures which minimizes our generalizability of broader academic achievement impact than the researcher-developed measures administered to evaluate the intervention specific outcomes. Additionally, we will review the limited high-quality research base under the ESSA definitions of evidence, highlight the most effective instructional practices implemented in academic interventions, and suggest possible future research and implications for practice. Dr. Christopher Mazzeo will serve as a Discussant to critically examine the findings and to encourage participants to generate evidence in alternative education.