EDUCATING AMERICA

Grantees Highlight the Consequences of Dropping Out

Many people don’t know that, nationwide, more than 30 percent of students don’t graduate on schedule. In some cities, more than 50 percent don’t make it to graduation day. And there is a mountain of statistics proving that students who get a high school diploma are more likely to lead healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives. We focus on improving our education system—specifically on increasing high school graduation and college-readiness rates—because the current situation reflects deep inequities in American society and because whether young people graduate or don’t often defines the options they have for the rest of their lives.

In 2006, the dropout problem received unprecedented attention from the public. In March, Civic Enterprises released a foundation-sponsored report titled “The Silent Epidemic.” The report was the first to give a voice to young people by asking those who had dropped out of high schools why they decided to do so. Researchers surveyed about 500 students who dropped out of high school, and most said they could have succeeded with more challenging coursework, engaging classroom experiences, and access to extra help. Sixty-two percent reported that they had passing grades when they left school, and 70 percent were confident they could have met their school’s graduation requirements. “There wasn’t anybody to keep me there,” said a young man from Philadelphia who had dreams of going to college but who dropped out of high school with just one year to go and is now unemployed. Almost three quarters said they would have stayed in school if they had it to do over again.

Following the release of the report, Oprah Winfrey aired a two-part series called “American Schools in Crisis.” The shows featured an extended interview with Bill and Melinda Gates giving their perspective on what needs to change in our high schools and how it can be done. The same week, Time magazine ran a cover story titled “Dropout Nation.”

This attention has rippled throughout the country. In 2006, the amount of local and national print coverage that focused on the nation’s low graduation rates doubled. This public pressure helped lead to a commitment by all states to report accurate graduation rates for the first time ever. Recently, North Carolina released recalculated graduation rates, and they had dropped from 90 to 60 percent. The real rate was a shock to many North Carolina residents, but accepting that statistic was the first step in embracing the problem and adopting strategies to address it.