Rodney Johnson, Ed.D.

Dropout Reduction

March 7, 2010

The dropout rate is highest for Blacks, Hispanics, and low-income students. Researchers agree that Texas’ statewide dropout rate hovers around 33 percent, which is about 20 points higher than official statistics compiled by TEA. After surveying many students, it has been determined that the barriers to high school graduation are diverse as the participating students. Thirty-three percent indicate a lack of course credits to graduate. 33% of those surveyed contribute their poor performance in lower grades as a contributing factor that prevented their graduation. These factors were by far the leading causes which students identified as barriers to graduation. A lack of time, a lack of self-confidence, and a lack of family support were identified as additional barriers that led to negative graduation rates.

There are several dominant factors impacting our dropout rate— failures related to high-stakes assessment, working students, working parents who are students, credit deficiencies, and disenfranchised students. A comprehensive program for over age students in grades 9-12, should be designed to help students return to school and ultimately to obtain their diploma. There is a tremendous gap between the high aspirations of high school students and low inequitable high school graduation and college completion rates in the United States. Two-thirds of ninth graders graduate from high school within four years. Additionally, less than 18% of ninth graders finish high school within four years, go on to college right after high school, and complete an associate’s degree within three years or a bachelor’s within six years. Flexible scheduling is key to any program design for at-risk students specifically to accommodate work schedules and other factors which might otherwise prevent students from attending a traditional campus.

Research shows that there are specific steps to reducing the dropout rate in the United States. Make sure students receive individual attention in safe schools, in smaller learning communities within large schools, in small, and in programs during the summer, weekends, and before and after school that provide tutoring and build on what students learn during the school day. Act early so students do not drop out with high-quality, universal preschool and full-day kindergarten; strong elementary programs that ensure students are doing grade-level work when they enter middle school; and middle school programs that address causes of dropping out that appear in these grades and ensure that students have access to algebra, science, and other courses that serve as the foundation for success in high school and beyond. Additionally, monitor, accurately report, and work to reduce dropout rates by gathering accurate data for key student groups (such as racial, ethnic, and economic), establishing benchmarks in each state for eliminating dropouts, and adopting the standardized reporting method developed by the National Governors Association.

The benefits of being a productive member of society are directly proportional to the level of education achieved. High school graduates earn over $200,000 more in life time earnings. Those achieving an associate’s degree earns over $600,000 more in life time earnings, and Bachelor’s degree recipients earns over $2.5 million more in life time earnings. 2.5 million students have dropped out in the past 20 years. The long-term cost to Society is $730 billion in lost revenue and cost for the state of Texas. If students are not encouraged to stay in school, state demographers predict that average household incomes in Texas will decline. Prevention cost at least $1.7 billion to keep dropouts in four years of school. And through the High School Allotment of $275 per high school student, that is money well spent for dropout-prevention and college readiness.

Tags: dropout reduction

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 10:26 am and is filed under Education Conferences, Education News, The Value of Tutoring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.