Class Of 2005 High School Dropouts Analysis

in terms of size" (Chappell, 2015), which racial or ethnic group is currently being left behind in academic achievement? Data shows that the "national dropout rate has decreased between the years of 1972 and 2009 by 6.7 percent, yet 3 million 16 to 24 year-olds in October of 2009 were neither enrolled in high school nor had earned a high school diploma or alternative degree" (Zhao, 2012). Researchers have pinpointed Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos in low-income communities at the greatest risk of dropping out and earning about "630,000 less over their lifetime than someone who has earned at least a GED" (Zhao, 2012). This drop in earnings is potentially related to the fact that "high school dropouts are not eligible for 90 percent of the jobs in the current economy" (Zhao, 2012). The National Center for Educational Statistics designed a nationally representative, longitudinal study of more than 23,000 students who were in the 9th grade in 944 public and private school in 2009, and their reports show that 4.3 percent of Blacks had dropped out of high school, along with 3.5 percent of Hispanics students. Additionally, the same report disclosed data stating that 4.7 percent of dropouts are from low-income families and 4.1 percent of dropout families had parents who had a high school education or less during the time of the study. Therefore, the focus of this study will look into the demographics of Blacks and Hispanic students who reside in low socioeconomic families who may or may not have a high school education. These individuals seem to have the biggest gap in academic achievement, and the group at most risk of missing out on the American dream and producing a desirable and attainable future for their future

    Dating back to the early 2000’s, over 1,000,000 teens a year have had children during high school (Source A). Teenagers are depending on others to rely on their children and not the effect of their education and their future career. As the years tick by, the teen pregnancy rate has reduced a solid 9%; becoming the lowest rate in over a hundred years (Source A). Since teen pregnancy has dropped and the amount of tax dollars have increased, the fight to find the time and place for their children's own education, is still a matter of struggles (Source

Sociologists and psychologists have studied and documented high school dropout rate for many decades. Their focus has been put on statistics of different races/ethnicities, age groups and gender as well as underlying factors of why people drop out. Comparing the dropout statistics of different races is a common theme amongst many sociologists’ studies. The extent of their research addresses many significant aspects of high school drop out but fail to shed light on the differences within races between the two genders.

In life there are many struggles that interfere with a students education. In the 1970s, the United States had the world’s highest high school graduation rate. Today, we are ranked number twenty-one which shows a decrease in students that graduate. Lowering the dropout rate can solve several economic and social problems. Dropping out of high school has become a controversial topic that will continue for ages to come. Students should be required to stay in school until the age of eighteen because those without a high school diploma have higher unemployment and lower job satisfaction, have lower earnings, and have a higher likelihood of ending up in jail or on public assistance

Did you know that 1.2 million high school students drop out of school every year just in the United States alone (11 Facts)? The decrease of high school graduation rates is a fairly important issue, and there are plenty of reasons to propose a change. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the current standard dropout rate of high school students is 7.4%. High school dropouts encounter way more difficulties and challenges than a high school graduate would. An average high school drop out lacks the basic education that one needs in order to be successful in life. They are more likely to face problems dealing with financial insecurity, communication skills, and of course, educational matters. With a high school diploma, one is more likely to get hired for a job, earn a higher income, and educate oneself even further. Some possible causes of high school students dropping out include stress, boredom, family problems, pregnancies, and drugs. With that said, with every issue, there is always a solution. By taking the problem at hand and looking at it from a broad perspective, we can thoroughly identify the source of the high dropout rates of U.S. high school students. There are countless factors that may be the cause of this epidemic, but a few ideas including making learning more relevant, limiting the workload given to students, and providing mandatory classes on drugs and safe sex may possibly be a solution to this

Schools with high dropout rates are categorized as underperforming schools. Since a majority of our children, who drop out of school, do so in middle school or the first year of high school and their ages range between 12 and 16 years (Cohen & Smerdon, 2009). It is the inability of many middle school kids to make the transition to high school that contributes to an increase in dropout rates. In order to address under performing schools and the high dropout rates, school reform programs were initiated by federal, local, state governments and many independent organizations. School reform programs were a means to improve student performance in the classroom and show a measured increase in student achievement (Brandlow, 2001)

According to Blue & Cook (2004) “factors influence dropping out, including the conditions of schooling, individual personality traits, home environment, and the economic context within which students live”( Blue, D., & Cook, J, 2004). Within this study, students that live in a low income neighborhood are most likely to drop out of school than other students that live in a wealthier neighborhood. Poverty is a key contributor, Hispanic students lack of English proficiency is a factor to higher dropout possibility. They suggest that the neighborhood that many African-Americans live in explains the high dropout rates. According to Blue & Cook (2004) “Texas students who are overage for grade level, as a result of being retained in grade are disproportionately represented among high school dropouts”.

Most parents want to see their children graduate from high school, but that’s not the case for everyone. If one comes from a low income household, the chances of dropping out is higher than someone from a high income household. According to the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), a student who comes from an low income household is six times more likely to dropout from high school than a student from a high income household. The reasons why low income students dropout from high school varies, but it’s more important to question why students from low income households are more likely to dropout. The percentage of children living in poverty in the U.S. by race is sixty five percent for Blacks, sixty three percent for both Hispanics

Thousands of students drop out of high school every year. This change in student’s academic career path can affect not only the lives of youth who drop out, but can have a ripple effect on the lives of others as well. A student who drops out is more likely to be unemployed, become dependent on government assistance, or being convicted of serious crimes. Clearly, a student who drops out has barriers that prevent them from meeting their full potential. Some adolescents are more vulnerable to dropping out than others. This information is not new and the education system does not accurately identify the root causes behind individual drop outs. This has caused schools to provide support to students that is misdirected and allows for some students to slip through the cracks of the education system. Therefore, the current system for preventing school dropouts is not effective because current attendance and truancy interventions do not target the root causes in the best manner. This can only mean that there are more effective ways to support

A big issue that colleges across the nation are seeing is an increased rate in students dropping out and never looking back for their education. This is especially prominent when the students are going out of state for college. Without much of a support system on their first failed test, students seem to carry that with them throughout the rest of the semester. This later on becomes a snowball effect and eventually leads to dropping out. However, being in a sorority for two years I rarely ever see a drop out occur, because we are all holding each other accountable and have very high expectations of each other. Which leads me to the conclusion that college students involved in Greek life are less likely to dropout of college

The authors of this article summarized recent high school reform efforts focusing on preventing dropouts. Of specific interest were the effects of the middle to high school transition on students’ academic progress. The authors reviewed the promising practices designed to keep students moving successfully towards graduation.

Partly as a result, it became an essential rite of passage for all adults to have stable work, and school completion guaranteed a higher wage and opened doors to higher educational institutions. Still, the dropout problem has persisted through these changes even amid higher rates of school completion; moreover, it is still found in alarming rates in many culturally and linguistically diverse groups, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and immigrants (Rumberger & Larson, 1998;Rumberger & Thomas, 2000; Valenzuela,

Looking into the statistics rates for graduation and dropouts we should get a clearer picture, however it is more than just the number. Although, officially, the US broadcasts a high school graduation rate of 81%, should we believe these numbers? Anya Kamenetz, npr’s lead educational blogger, in her article, High School Graduation Rates: The Good, The Bad and The Ambiguous, talks about many schools are either softening up the path for graduation, or using a pushout system or even a credit-recovery program to graduate their students”(Kamenetz, 2015). One would have to question with this input what is really going on. Is there a protection of job security, trying to make their schools look good? This too,

There needs to be a more targeted approach to deal with the high school dropout crisis. Public health professionals must get involved in making sure that all high school students graduate including students at highest risk (National Association for Chronic Disease Directors [NACDD], 2011). This speech will view some of the risk factors of high school dropouts for vulnerable populations and discuss promising approaches for reducing high school dropout rates by targeting students’ health. My thesis statement is dropping out of high school is a major economic and social problem. Public health professionals should make improving high school completion rates a public health priority. I hope that my audience will be convinced of the influence education has for health status, the importance of the public health community in reducing the dropout rate, and bring attention to the role that the health sector, specifically school-based interventions can play in reducing the high school dropout rate.

Over the past decade, teenage pregnancy has increased to eye-opening numbers. In 2015, the United States had over 200,000 girls that gave birth between the age of 15-19(CDC). Without question, this alarming statistic makes one realize that some females are skipping their young teenage years and moving toward parenthood. Unfortunately, one drawback in the United States is that these unplanned pregnancies have forced some young mothers to drop out of high school. Subsequently, this results in not only a life changing experience, but also a difficult road ahead to earn their high school equivalency. Even if some mothers go back to school, their lives are changed dramatically. In addition to that, the families are indirectly affected by teenage pregnancies too. There many emotions that go through the parents of a teenage mother. Some of these emotions include resentment, anger and embarrassment. As a result, some parents will let their anger get the best of them and kick their children out of their home, while some will feel the stress of helping their child raise a baby. Parents can feel overwhelmed that it can lead them to depression because they feel they failed to bring their child up properly.