Each year, more than 1.2 million students drop out of our nation’s public high schools with detrimental consequences to them, our society, our economy and civic life.

1 Nationally, research now puts the on-time graduation rate between 68 and 75 percent. Nearly onethird of all public high school students -- and about one-half of all African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans -- do not graduate from a public high school with their incoming freshman class.

2 The dropout epidemic disproportionately affects low-income, minority, urban, single-parent children – with 14 percent of American high schools producing more than half of the nation’s dropouts and more than two-thirds of its minority dropouts.

3 In nearly 2,000 high schools in the United States, located in cities with high poverty rates, low wealth rural districts and increasingly in some suburbs, the number of seniors is routinely 60 percent or less than the number of freshmen three years earlier.

4 Although there is some evidence of modest increases in on-time high school graduation rates in the past few years, tragically, high school graduation rates have remained largely unchanged over the last three decades, ever since the 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, warned of the many dangers of American education falling behind foreign counterparts.

5 According to the 2008 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) survey, the U.S. ranked 21st in high school graduation rates and 16th in college graduation rates among developed countries, even though it outspent the majority of them as a percentage of GDP.

The individual and societal impacts of dropping out are severe -- often triggering unemployment, poverty, living on public assistance, poor health, incarceration, and becoming single parents who have children who drop out of school.

7 Dropouts were more than twice as likely as high school graduates to slip into poverty in a single year and three times more likely than college graduates to be unemployed in 2004.

8 Dropouts are more than eight times as likely to be in jail or in prison than high school graduates.9 Dropouts are four times less likely to volunteer than are college graduates and half as likely to vote or participate in community projects. They represent only 3 percent of actively engaged citizens in the U.S.

10 The economic impacts of dropout are just as bleak. The average annual income for a high school dropout in 2005 was $17,299, compared to $26,933 for a high school graduate, a difference of $9,634.

11 In the past 30 years, the difference between what college graduates earn compared to high school graduates has climbed to the highest level since 1915, when far fewer Americans pursued a post-secondary degree.

12 College graduates earn on average $1 million more over a lifetime than do high school dropouts.

13 If the students who dropped out of the Class of 2007 had graduated, the nation’s economy would have benefited from an additional $329 billion in income over the lifetimes of these students.

14 The government would reap $45 billion in extra tax revenues and lower costs for public health, crime, and welfare payments if the number of high school dropouts among 20-year olds in the U.S., who number more than 700,000 individuals, were cut in half. If our dropout rate remains the same for the next 10 years, the result will be a loss to the nation of $3 trillion.

15 Analysis of recent census data shows that close to one-third of 18- to 24-year olds who have dropped out of school are simply idle, neither in the labor force nor participating in educational programs. The idleness rate climbs to more than 40 percent for high school dropouts from families with incomes below the poverty level. This means they are not acquiring the skills needed to earn a livelihood, let alone support a family. Compare these rates with the low, 8 percent idleness rates for 18- to 24-year-olds who completed high school.

16 Even those who graduate from high school may not be college ready. A recent study shows that of the students who wished to go to college, only 41 percent took the necessary steps during their senior year to apply to a four-year university.

17 Recent research reveals that many states do not require students to take specific core courses in math or science in order to graduate from high school.

18 In addition, even for those students who successfully complete their high school’s core curriculum, few are ready for introductory college classes. In fact, of those students who took a core curriculum, only one-fourth are ready for college-level work in English, math, social science, and natural science, while one-fifth are not ready in any of these subject areas.

19 When asked to identify the reasons students drop out of high school, not enough support in the home was the top response given by teachers and principals. Sixty-one percent of teachers felt a lack of support at home was a factor in most cases of students’ dropping out, with 89 percent saying that it was a factor in at least some cases. Similarly, 45 percent of principals felt that a lack of parental support was a factor in most dropout cases, and 88 percent reported it being a factor in at least some dropout cases. Nearly three-fourths of teachers (74 percent) and 69 percent of principals felt that all or most of the responsibility for students dropping out rested with parents. Principals, however, were more willing to cite “engaging parents” as an area in which their high school could improve, with 79 percent who said that more work could be done and only 21 percent who thought that their school did enough. Nearly twice as many teachers (40 percent) thought their schools adequately involved parents in their child’s education. Teachers and principals in our focus groups understood the relationship between parental involvement and student achievement. A teacher from Cleveland, Ohio explained, “When I look at my honor students, it’s amazing. The majority of them come from a two-parent, functional home. And then when I look at the kids who fail the class, 75 percent or 80 percent of them come from dysfunctional homes.” Increased parental involvement was universally the most popular reform identified by educators in our focus groups. A lingering question, however, was the extent to which schools were giving parents the information and tools they needed to help strengthen the academic performance of their children. Research has shown that parental involvement can significantly improve student achievement, with the children of engaged parents having a higher likelihood of attending class, having fewer behavioral problems, excelling in school and successfully graduating with a diploma.

23 Research has also shown that students tend to agree, as dropouts felt that more parental involvement would have been helpful in keeping them on track to graduate.

24 The gap between the attitudes of parents of students in low-performing schools and parents of students in high-performing schools was highlighted in the recent report, One Dream, Two Realities: Perspectives of Parents on America’s High Schools. The report showed a large majority of parents with children in high-performing schools (85 percent) said their schools were doing a good job encouraging parental involvement, while less than half (47 percent) of their counterparts with children in lowperforming schools reported the same sentiment. Parents with children in low-performing schools were less likely to feel that their child’s high school took appropriate and timely steps to inform parents about their child’s academic performance, outline the requirements necessary for high school graduation and college admission, and provide a single point of contact for school-related questions.25

In The Silent Epidemic, a survey of dropouts found that nearly half (47 percent) said a major reason for dropping out was that classes were not interesting. In addition, nearly seven in ten students (69 percent) responded that they were not motivated or inspired to work hard in school. In the focus groups, these young adults often considered school as something irrelevant and criticized teachers for employing a lecture based method instead of involving them in the classwork.

26 Only 20 percent of teachers and 21 percent of principals in our surveys saw a student’s lack of interest in school as a major factor in most cases of dropout. When asked how they felt about former students naming “boredom” as a main reason for leaving high school, 42 percent of teachers believed students were making excuses for their failure to graduate. While some educators in the focus groups realized the importance of engaging students in their own education, and half of all teachers recognized that students were speaking to a legitimate cause of dropout, a significant number lamented having the responsibility to keep students motivated. As one science teacher from Cleveland put it, “Kids no longer are really excited about learning.” Another teacher pointed to the, “instant gratification cultural mindset” that students have, in which teachers cannot compete. Repeatedly, teachers acknowledged the lack of interest students had in their classes and how difficult it was to engage students who were sometimes described as “lazy” and with a “poor work ethic.” As one teacher explained, “I believe that the boring part of school is partly the student’s fault because I think that a lot of kids are just spoiled now by having video games and everything be so entertaining.” Facing large classes, in which many students had individual needs, teachers felt overwhelmed with finding ways to link their curriculum to their students’ daily lives. While principals were more willing than teachers to see boredom as a legitimate cause for students’ dropping out of school (69 percent), only a small proportion felt that it was a factor in most cases of dropout. Principals in the focus groups were more likely to recognize that students were struggling with being motivated in their classes. As one principal stated, “I think it’s very reasonable that students would say that they’re bored, and I don’t think that’s a cop-out.” Other principals connected a student’s lack of interest to the quality of the teacher in that classroom, saying “even the lowest-performing, most unmotivated student will say, we want a teacher who loves what they teach and who will spend the time looking for a creative way to teach and to have students love what they’re doing.” School district leaders also expressed support for increasing student engagement. As one school district leader from Alabama said, “High school teachers have a responsibility to teach their courses in ways that are extremely engaging and that students will want to come to class.” Another commented that new and better teachers needed to be brought in, as “we tend to put our worst teachers in the schools that need the best teachers.” They consistently reinforced the importance of teachers building strong personal relationships with the students, and the need to “stick with them and encourage them.” Not all educators saw student apathy as irrelevant and many teachers, principals, and school district leaders are working to motivate and engage their students. A history teacher mentioned the World War II project he did with his ninth grade students and said, “It was kind of cool because I had students taking me aside and asking questions. They were really interested and wanted to tell me all about it.” A principal of an alternative school talked about how his teachers use hands-on activities to engage students and explained it made “a world of difference.” Principals talked about how service-learning motivated students, and how the school was making a conscious effort to make school more relevant. Another principal stated, “We do lots of job shadowing to try to get them to set goals and we bring in speakers throughout the community to allow students to develop a relationship with them.” It is clear that some educators have a firm understanding of how improving student engagement will positively affect their school’s graduation rate. Even some school district leaders talked about the gains they were making with closing the achievement gap by incorporating more “hands-on math, hands-on science,” and by increasing the amount of technology available in schools to keep students interested in their classes. “Even the lowest performing, most unmotivated students will say, ‘we want a teacher who loves what they teach and who will spend the time loking for a cretive way to teach and to have students love what they’re doing.’” -Principal from New York City Notwithstanding the debate as to whether boredom is a legitimate factor, students and educators need to move beyond the “blame game” and devise a plan to meet halfway, with students assuming personal responsibility for their performance and educators making a standards-based curriculum more relevant and interesting. LACK OF ACADEMIC PREPAREDNESS Sixty-two percent of teachers and 60 percent of principals cited students not being academically prepared for high school as a factor in at least some cases of dropout. Research shows that academic failure or not being prepared for high school is a significant cause of dropout.

27 Dropouts themselves felt the same way, as more than one-third said they left school because they were failing in their classes, and 45 percent stated that their previous schooling and middle and elementary schools had left them poorly prepared for the rigors of high school. In the focus groups, teachers and principals spoke frequently about their frustrations in teaching students with an elementary or low middle school reading level. One history teacher said it was nearly impossible to expect students to read the course textbook since most of them had rudimentary literacy skills and virtually no experience with summarizing or outlining key ideas. Teachers pointed to the “wide range of academic abilities” and their daily struggles to modify their lessons so that they could be adapted to every student. Some were frustrated with social promotion in the lower grades, and explained how students continued to be passed up to higher grades without the necessary skill set. As one math teacher put it, “K through 8th grades, there’s no accountability so once the student comes to 9th grade, the whole problem explodes.” The reality of having students enter grades that they are not academically prepared for is a real challenge for educators. Research has shown that more than 8 million students in grades 4-12 read below grade level.

28 As a result, many high school teachers struggle to effectively teach their subject matter. The American Federation of Teachers agrees with high school teachers, by stressing the importance of early reading instruction, citing research that shows children who are poor readers at the end of first grade are unlikely to ever read at grade level.

29 In a typical high-poverty urban high school, approximately half of incoming 9th grade students read at the 6th or 7th grade level.30 In the 2005-2006 school year, only 42 percent of 8th graders in urban districts scored at or above proficient on state tests of reading, and only 46 percent of 8th graders scored at or above ‘proficient’ on state tests of math.31 This means that not only do high school teachers have a responsibility for teaching their subject matter to students, but they are given the additional

Forty-five percent of teachers and 42 percent of principals cited excessive absenteeism as a key factor in most cases of dropout. Research confirms that dropping out of high school is not a sudden act, but a slow process of disengagement. Attendance patterns are the most accurate indicators that a student is falling behind academically and may drop out.

32 Previous research on at-risk youths in Colorado showed that 80 percent of high school dropouts were chronically truant in the year before dropping out. Excessive absenteeism has also been linked to a student’s increased chance of behavioral issues in school.

33 When asked how often chronically truant students end up falling behind in their classwork, 74 percent of teachers and 59 percent of principals said ‘very often.’ This may be a contributing factor as to why 76 percent of teachers and 74 percent of principals placed the blame of dropping out squarely on the shoulders of the students. In previous research, dropouts themselves validated some of these assessments. When the former students were asked what led them to drop out, 43 percent claimed they had missed too many days and could not catch up, and the majority said they missed class often the year before dropping out.

34 In the focus groups, students described a pattern of refusing to wake up, missing school, skipping class, and taking long lunches -- each absence making them less willing to go back. In the focus groups, we consistently heard teachers and principals blame students’ irregular attendance, with most educators stating that they could not teach students who simply were not in school. As one teacher put it, “A lot of time, the attendance is a major contributing factor to dropping out because they might be here today and not tomorrow.” Another teacher commented on having “30 percent to 40 percent of students absent every day.” REAL LIFE ISSUES LEAD TO DROPPING OUT Educators identified personal reasons as factors in some cases of dropout. Seventy-eight percent of both teachers and principals felt that a student who spent time with peers disengaged from school became a factor in most or some cases of that student dropping out. About half of teachers (48 percent) and principals (44 percent) mentioned a student’s need to get a job and support their family as a factor in most or some cases of dropout. Forty-five percent of teachers and 39 percent of principals mentioned students having a child as a factor in at least some cases. Thirty-five percent of teachers and 26 percent of principals recognized that students caring for a family member was a factor in at least some cases as well. One teacher from Philadelphia said, “We have teen parents. We have children who are responsible for younger brothers or sisters or sick relatives.”

Existing research shows that about one-third of the dropouts surveyed mentioned they dropped out for personal reasons. Of these respondents, 42 percent indicated spending time with peers who were not interested in school was a major factor in their decision to drop out.

35 Thirty-two percent said they had to earn an income, about a quarter (26 percent) said they became a parent, and 22 percent left to care for a family member. The students who left for non-school related issues tended to have the highest grade point averages and a strong belief that they could have graduated if they had stayed in school. They were also the most likely to mention that increased support systems would have played a vital role in helping them stay on track to graduate

WHAT MIGHT HELP STUDENTS STAY IN SCHOOL RAISING LOW ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS Teachers and principals were read two statements about academic standards (see corresponding chart) and were asked which one comes closer to their point of view. Less than one-third of teachers (32 percent) said, “we should expect all students to meet high academic standards and graduate with the skills that would enable them to do college-level work, and provide extra support to struggling students to help them meet those standards. Lowering expectations for some students is the wrong way to solve the dropout problem.” The majority of teachers (59 percent) felt that it was unrealistic to have all students meet high academic standards and that a separate track should be created in schools to allow students who were not “college-bound” to receive their diploma. Both newer teachers (those teaching for less than 10 years) and experienced teachers (those teaching for more than 20 years) shared these views – 32 percent of newer

An overwhelming number of teachers (75 percent) and principals (66 percent) felt that even if higher standards were demanded of at-risk students, students would not work harder to meet those standards. Even for those educators who believed in holding all students to high academic standards, a minority (28 percent of teachers and 38 percent of principals) felt that students would favorably respond, work harder, and decrease their chances of dropout. Only 20 percent of newer teachers and 17 percent of experienced teachers believed students would work harder. As one teacher from Cleveland put it, “There are some students, as we brought up before, that will never get algebra. It’s just a given.” Other teachers mentioned the difficulty in holding students to high standards, “We let lots of kids slide underneath the bar,” and another commented, “On paper it looks as though we’re having high expectations, but we’re letting a lot of kids just slip through.” A math teacher in another focus group explained, “We are requiring everyone to have algebra and geometry but I just don’t feel, as a geometry teacher, that that’s really what our goal should be for every studen The importance of preparing college-ready high school graduates cannot be overstated. In today’s increasingly competitive job market, the level of one’s education is directly related to one’s potential earnings. A high school diploma has become the bare minimum for employment, and the nature of work in America has evolved to reflect that. Even jobs that do not require a college degree still demand advanced thinking and problem-solving skills -- characteristics employers are likely to find more in high school graduates than in high school dropouts.37 The longterm benefits of a high school education grow more significant as Americans live longer, change careers more often, and face increasing competition from foreign workers. To ensure that high school graduates possess sufficient skills that employers find attractive, states have made graduation requirements more robust. For example, 18 states now have “college and work ready” graduation plans – and 12 other states are currently in the process of implementing these standards – that require every student to take four years of challenging math, at least through Algebra II, and four years of rigorous English aligned with college and work-ready standards.38 Along with increasingly rigorous requirements for students to earn a high school diploma, this trend in curriculum aims to better prepare for them for post-secondary course work. When asked in focus groups about having universally high expectations for students, many teachers stated that they did indeed possess high expectations for their students, but seemed to divorce that belief from believing that all students could be academically prepared for college. Teachers seemed hesitant to agree that all students could be made college-ready, citing daunting home life situations, lack of academic preparedness for high school, and excessive absenteeism as factors that deter many students from graduating from high school with the necessary skills for college. It was evident that the term “high expectations” had become a catchphrase in education policy, and while an overwhelming majority of teachers voiced their agreement, few had similar definitions of the concept. Whether or not respondents to the survey translated “high expectations” to mean that every student graduates from high school with the necessary knowledge to succeed in collegiate-level courses does not take away from the fact that numerous research studies have shown that a student’s achievement level is directly correlated with high expectations and the level of quality instruction provided by the teacher. At the Cesar Chavez Academy, a charter school in Pueblo, Colorado, 63 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Unlike most high-poverty schools in the state, Cesar Chavez does extremely well on standardized testing, even earning the state’s highest academic rating of “excellent.” This is a result of the rigorous curriculum, high expectations, small classes and one-on-one tutoring for each student.39 The call for a more challenging curriculum has been issued by countless education organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers, Teach for America, and New Leaders for New Schools, as it is a cornerstone of high-performing schools. In schools where a rigorous curriculum is being taught, and high expectations are set for every student and coupled with sufficient student and teacher supports, there is significant improvement in attendance, engagement, academic achievement and course completion, as well as a decrease in behavioral problems. A case study done by New Leaders for New Schools showed significant gains can be made once high standards and a rigorous curriculum are implemented. The principal of the examined school made a conscientious effort to improve the quality of instruction and created a school-wide expectation that all students would be presented with a challenging curriculum. By the end of the year, the number of 8th grade students who passed the state reading exam increased by 27 percent and the number of students who passed the math portion increased from 5 percent to 48 percent. The danger of having low expectations for students was explained by one school board member in a focus group, “We weren’t requiring our teachers, our parents, our students, or our principals to account for their children. And so the bar went lower and lower and lower year by year.”

Prior research among parents indicates that the majority of parents of students in high-performing schools (58 percent) felt that their school was doing a good job of challenging students and setting high academic standards, compared to just 15 percent of parents with students in low-performing schools.40 There was a clear expectations gap. Similarly, while 66 percent of parents of students in high-performing schools reported being very satisfied with the high school being able to help their child reach their full potential, only 24 percent of parents with children at low-performing schools reported the same confidence.41