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[edit] An Effort to Decrease High School Dropout RatesWritten by: Nichole Simmons

[edit] Introduction

Early school dropout has been a major issue nationally for the last two decades. In the 1950’s, earning a high school diploma was considered a valued asset in the labor market. In the 2000’s, it is considered essential for access to further training, education, or the labor force. There is a high cost to those who drop out, their future families and all tax-paying citizens. With the recent passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, schools are held accountable for the completion rate of all students. The problem is that there is no evidence to prove that there are effective ways to predict potential student dropouts in early stages of education in an effort to decrease this widespread problem.

It appears that students with disabilities or emotional or behavioral disorders tend to have a higher dropout rate than those of general education. Although there has been evidence of a decrease in the dropout rate for students with disabilities, these students still show an alarmingly low rate of school completion compared to their peers in general education. In the 1998-1999 school year, only 46.5 % of students with disabilities graduated with a standard diploma compared to approximately 75% of the general population of students. (Reschly & Christenson, 2006, p. 277)

Research has been done on the probable causes to high school dropouts. There are several variables that were found. Included are low socioeconomic status of the family, lack of books and other reading material in the home, level of schooling of the parent of the same gender, low grades in school, teen pregnancy, prior academic failure, prior use of cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drug, aggressive behavior, absenteeism, course failure, peer influences and the number of school-to-school transitions in grades K-12, and school size. As stated before, there seems to be so many more students dropping out of school today than there were in earlier years. Something needs to be done about this dropout problem. Is there any help for these students who are losing out on a valuable education?

[edit] A Financial Hurt

The United States could save over 45 billion dollars each year by splitting the high school dropout rate in half. A study was done at Columbia University’s Teacher College. It involved strategies that can help produce estimated savings. Over 700,000 of the country’s 20-year olds are high school dropouts. The savings from cutting that number for future 20-year olds comes from higher tax revenues. It also comes from lower government spending on health, crimes and welfare. The study’s economic analysis shows that each new high school graduate yields a          public benefit of $209,000, while requiring an overall investment of $82,000. The net benefit is 2.5 times higher than the costs. That means an even smaller reduction in dropout rates could bring substantial savings. A 20 % decrease (140,000 fewer dropouts) for example, would save $18 billion a year. (American Teacher, 2007, p, 5)

[edit] Can Anyone Get Students to Do the Right Thing?

Policy makers over the last 30 years have been working on one approach after another. They have been trying to find approaches to prevent students from making a big mistake - - dropping out of school. Many efforts to prevent such a disaster have had limited success. Many are now noting factors that lead students to drop out by gathering more accurate data. This data results from better methods of tracking that will leave school. They hope that they will be able to prevent students from making a decision with potentially dire consequences.

Demographically Speaking

One report synthesizes recent research, separating myths from facts about what contributes to young people’s decision to say good-bye to school. Craig Jerald did this study for Achieve, Inc. and Jobs for the Future. The report, titled Identifying Potential Dropouts: Key Lessons for Building an Early Warning Data System, notes that student demographics do not necessarily dictate who will stay in school and who will leave. A student’s decision whether to stay in school or dropout can be affected heavily by academic performance and engagement in school. “Especially in urban districts, where high proportions of students have demographic risk factors,” Jerald points out, “very low academic performance and educational engagement can help discriminate the ones most likely to be on the path to dropping out.” (Dounay, 2006, p. 181) Though risk factors alone can not determine who will stay in school and who will leave, research leads to one risk factor that appears to help significantly in determining who graduates from high school.

[edit] Getting on the Right on Track

Another study called The On-Track Indicator as a Predictor of High School Graduation suggests that dropout prevention approaches should recognize how important the freshman year of high school is.

During a 2005 study of Chicago Public Schools, researchers found that students		who were on track at the completion of ninth grade (those who had earned enough		credits to move to grade 10 and had failed no more than one semester on a			core subject) were less likely to dropout than their peers who did not meet one or		both of the criteria mentioned. (Dounay, 2006, p. 181) Researchers also found that many students who entered high school with low-test scores were on track in the ninth grade and finished high school on time. Some students with good test scores in middle grades did not make a successful transition to high school and did end up off track. So, performance before high school is not a solid indicator of who will be a graduate four years later.

The Reality of It All

A report was done in 2006 called The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. The report involves findings from focus groups of recent dropouts on the reasons they dropped out and on what would have made them stay.

Nearly half (47%) said they found school boring, and more than two thirds said they were not motivated or inspired to work hard. These young people were also asked what might have helped them stay in school. Eighty-one percent cited a need for real-world learning. The same percentage expressed a need for better teaching. In addition, only 56 % said they could go to a staff person for school-related problems, and just two-fifths (41%) had someone in school to talk to about personal problems. (Dounay, 2006, p. 181)

Some feel that students need to be taught lessons for real life, things that can be applied to their lives as opposed to teaching them just to learn. For example, teachers need to better explain how education can lead to a good job. Many students enjoy the library because it has a computer lab. Many or those who are dropping out are kinesthetic learners who need more hands on learning rather than listening to lectures.

[edit] A Different Pathway

At a high school in Queens, New York, students who have fallen behind can attend a late afternoon and evening program in an effort to acquire the credits they need. The program is one of twenty Young Adult Borough Centers operated by the New York City Department of Education in partnership with community-based organizations. The Center serves around five-thousand students at least 17 ½ years old and have less than seventeen of the forty-four credits they need to graduate. (Gewertz, 2007, p. 29)

The program includes a wrap-around net of support intended to smooth the pathway to graduation. Students are involved in career and college planning, developing job skills and extra academic help. The program also provides social workers for emotional support needed to manage the ups and downs of list that might take a student off of their intended path. Students are able to choose their own schedule according to their needs. Some may come daily for up to five hours while others may come for one class, twice a week. Some have a long ride to the program on the bus or subway, but the thought of receiving their high school diploma after completing the program makes it worthwhile.

Those with less than seventeen credits are encouraged to try one of the city’s twenty-four transfer schools. These students are usually younger and have weaker academic skills. Transfer schools are full-time, daytime programs that offer a more intensive approach to catching up. These students will earn their diploma from their transfer school. By analyzing data, district leaders can figure out where and why teens stumble on the road to graduation and can respond with a range of programs to keep them from dropping out. “Overage, under credited students are the dropout students, just at an earlier point in time,” says one executive director of the district. (Gewertz, 2007, p. 30)

Online Programs

Virtual schools offer regular school courses in distance education formats. They tipped onto the scene in America about a decade ago. They are one of the fastest growing areas in k-12 education. The National Center for Education Statistics found that, as of 2003, 36 % of U.S. school districts have students in virtual courses, for a total of 300,000. This number is expected to explode in the coming decade. (Roblyer, 2006, p. 56) Many students enroll in online programs for various reasons. They may take advanced courses to accelerate the pace of their study. Some take credit-recovery courses, which allow a student to earn their high school diploma. Sometimes a student may seek virtual schools when their school does not have resources to offer wanted or needed courses. Some seek virtual schools due to physical handicaps or disciplinary problems, which limit their attendance in a regular school setting.

Some view virtual schools with suspicion that approaches alarm. Claims and counterclaims circle around issues of funding, credit, certification, and even whether the whole idea of learning without a teacher and student in the same room is socially desirable or morally acceptable. In some places the dropout and failure rate for virtual programs are reported to be as high as 70 %. (Roblyer, 2006, p. 57) On the other hand, some virtual programs have very low dropout and failure rates. This results in better passing rates than those of traditional school programs on tests such as Advanced Placement exams.

Connecting Family, School and Community

Information on dropout prevention reveals that support from family, school and community is necessary to involve children in the educational process. Project Support is a federally funded five-year program for at-risk youths. It focuses on alcohol, drug and dropout prevention in four low-income, high minority public schools districts in the suburbs of New York City. Many approaches were attempted, but two were very effective.

The first approach was a school-based mentoring program designed for middle school students. Mentoring groups met before and after school. These sessions provided a safe environment that allowed students to develop personal resiliency. The second approach was the Outdoor and Environmental Education program. This program provided students with a safe, nurturing environment in which they would feel supported and secure with the outdoor educators, their mentors, and other group members. They participated in activities involving taking risks, teamwork, building trust, problem solving, responsibility, respect, self-expression, decision-making and communication. [edit] Conclusion

There are many educational programs that are fighting to reduce the high school dropout rate. Of course, it would be wonderful to see the problem resolved at a rate of one-hundred percent, but we must remain realistic. As previously stated, there are often uncontrollable factors that lead to this problem. While some strategies have been successful, others have not had the same results. Nevertheless, any effort to help with this widespread problem is commended. Hopefully, with new and upcoming efforts, the high school dropout rate will continue to decrease. After all, education plays a major role in today’s society.

[edit] Multiple Choice Questions

1. The No Child Left Behind Act was established in

A. 2000 B. 2001 C. 2002 D. 2003

2. Which students tend to have a higher dropout rate than those of general education students?

A. students with disabilities B. students with emotional disorders C. students with behavioral disorders D. all of the above

3. Which of the following was found as probable causes for dropping out?

A. being a non-smoker B. good school attendance C. high socioeconomic family status D. lack of books

4. In what way could the U.S. save over 45 billion dollars?

A. cutting the dropout rate in half B. cutting the dropout rate by one third C. cutting out dropout prevention programs D. none of the above

5. The study called "On-Track Indicator" recognizes the importance of

A. middle school years B. high school sophomore year C. high school freshman year D. elementary school years

6. Performance ____ high school is not a solid indicator of who will graduate four years later.

A. during B. before C. after d. none of the above

7. More students who drop out need _____ learning.

A. lecture B. group C. hands-on D. any type of

8. Online programs are expected to ____ in the coming decade.

A. decrease B. increase C. stagnate D. be ruled out

9. The following are reasons students enroll in online programs

A. limited attendance at regular school due to physical handicap B. lack of resources in regular school C. both A and B D. neither A nor B

10. One program developed for at-risk youth is called

A. Project Support B. Community Project C. Family & Community Project D. Team Support

[edit] Essay Question Do you feel that today's high dropout rate is affecting society? Why or why not? If so,how?

[edit] Works Cited

Dounay, J. (2006). Getting young people to do the right thing. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(3),		 181. Dropout prevention: Worth the money. (2007). American Teacher 91(7), 5.

Gewertz, C. (2007). Pathways to a diploma. Education Week, 26(32), 29-30.

Reschly, A., & Christenson, S. (2006). Prediction of dropout among students with mild		 disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 27(5), 276-278.

Roblyer, M. (2006). Online high-school programs that work. Education Digest, 72(3),56-57.

[edit] Multiple Choice Answers 1. B 2.  D 3.  D 4.  A 5.  C 6.  B 7.  C 8.  B 9.  C 10. A