Dropout Prevention: Strategies for Improving High School Graduation Rates

Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University. 257 Sanford Institute of Public Policy, P.O. Box 90264, Durham, NC 27708-0264. Tel: 919-613-7319; Fax: 919-681-1533; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu

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66

High Schools; Dropout Programs; Graduation Rate; Dropout Prevention; American Indians; Dropouts; Graduation; Attendance Patterns; School Districts; High School Students; Racial Differences; Educational Policy; Measurement Techniques; State Programs; Seminars; State Legislation; Early Intervention; School Community Relationship; Family Literacy; Transitional Programs; Educational Research; Educational Environment; Elementary Schools; Socialization; Reading Skills; Mathematics Skills; At Risk Students; Middle Schools; Parent Participation; State Standards

The reason that the school dropout crisis is now referred to as a "silent epidemic" is because, when we weren't paying attention, the graduation rate in our country slipped to a level that threatens the very health and well-being of our society. Each year, almost one-third of all public high school students--and nearly one-half of all blacks, Hispanics and American Indians--fail to graduate from public high school with their classes. This briefing report to accompany the 2008 North Carolina Family Impact Seminar, "Dropout Prevention: Strategies for Improving High School Graduation Rates," will help us come to grips with the problem by providing a wide range of information, including data and insights about how to address the problem. Brief 1: "Tough Questions for Policymakers to Consider in Addressing the Dropout Problem" (Thomas Ahn), poses tough questions that cut to the heart of what is most troubling about this crisis. Brief 2: "Assessing the North Carolina Dropout Challenge" (Casey Wyant) takes a detailed look at the dropout problem in North Carolina. Brief 3: "What is a Dropout?" (Kara Bonneau) explores what is meant by "high school dropout," and it describes the many different rates and measurements used to quantify the problem. Brief 4: "State-level Dropout Prevention Programs, Strategies and Policies" (Joel Rosch and Jenni Owen) shares information about dropout prevention strategies. Underlying all of these briefs is the belief that there is a path to graduation for every student, but not necessarily one path that is appropriate for all students. If we can determine: who is dropping out, why (for what reasons), when (at what point in the student's career) and where (from which schools), then we should be able to figure out how best to guide each student on a path that leads to graduation. This briefing report strives to take us further in that direction. Appended are: (1) Relevant Education Acronyms; (2) Glossary of Relevant Education Terms; (3) Organizations Addressing Dropout Issues; (4) Publications List; (5) Table: Compulsory School Attendance Laws, by State; and (6) Table: North Carolina Dropout Event Rates, by LEA. (Contains 57 endnotes.)

ERIC

2009

ED506360