NCJ Number
109897
Journal
Public Interest Issue: 87 Dated: (Spring 1987) Pages: 3-22
Date Published
1987
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the prevalence of high school dropouts, profiles dropouts, and reviews the nature and effectiveness of efforts to prevent dropping out of high school.
Abstract
Figures on the prevalence of high school dropouts vary according to definitions and data-analysis methods, but the most accurate statistic is the result of the Census Bureau's query of young adults about whether they graduated from high school. The most recent census indicates that six out of seven people complete high school. Many persons who drop out of school eventually return to complete high school, so dropping out is not necessarily a permanent condition. Laws are not very effective in preventing dropping out, since only eight States require school attendance for 12 years. Dropouts are generally of lower socioeconomic status, ethnic minorities (Hispanics and blacks), with low school achievement and school behavioral problems. Some educators believe schools are to blame for the dropout problem, and so they advocate revising school curriculums and educational methods to hold the interest of all students. The danger of this approach is that they quality of education may diminish. Evaluations of dropout remedies are sparse, so little is known about what works, but little is to be gained from reducing the number of dropouts if the educational achievements for high school graduates are thereby undermined. School should be both interesting and challenging from the first grade on, and every high school diploma should have value. Individual students should then determine whether the reward is worth the effort required to obtain it.