The Anchorage School District By Hanlon T

The achievement gap between Hispanic students and non-Hispanic students is alarming due to the high dropout rates and the increasing Hispanic population in the United States. To better understand why Hispanic students dropout out of high school it is important to explore the perspectives and experiences of high school dropouts. Examining the root causes of whys Hispanic student’s drop out of high school can assist to improve dropout retention early on. As a significant number of Hispanics continue to dropout of high school annually, educational decision-makers continue to search for solutions to effectively address the high percentage of Hispanic dropouts. In 2008, Behnke, A., Gonzalez, L., & Cox, R. researched why Hispanic youth drop out

In October 2000, the overall picture of high school dropouts had changed little since the late 1980s (Kaufman et al. 2001): For every 100 young adults enrolled in high school in October 1999, 5 had left school without completing a program; of 34.6 million U.S. young adults aged 16-24, 3.8 million—almost 11 percent—had not completed high school and were not enrolled. Some studies have shown that students in schools with a concentration of multiple risk factors (e.g., large schools, large classes, high poverty, inner city location) have less than one chance in two of graduating from high school; furthermore, the economic costs of dropping out have increased as time goes on (Castellano et al. 2001). Adjusting for 50

“Environmental influence during the first few years of life is crucial to all later abilities, especially intellectual ones”(Lightfoot et al., 2013, p.437). In the United States many children don’t receive an excellent education due to living in neighborhoods that are economically poor, typically where many minority children grow up. Children usually learn through social enhancement, imitation and explicit instruction that are provided in their culture from their families. The children who come from low-income backgrounds are found to do poorly in subjects, as well as standardize testing. Some thoughts are whether standardized testing discriminates against ethnic minority students and students from low income backgrounds, which usually rank below from other students in other socioeconomic status.

There are other factors associated with early school leaving. Researchers have focused on three different topics. First topic, student and family factors identified as contributing to dropouts is gender, racial, and ethnic minority status, low socioeconomic status, poor school performance, low self-esteem, delinquency, substance abuse, and pregnancy. In addition to this research has also gathered the impact of certain family characteristics, such as single-families,

How far a student can go in life is already pre-determined by the generation before him. Success is no longer made up of solely intellectual ability, but rather if the streets the student walks through is gang-ridden or not, if their parents are absentees, and other conditions in which the child grows up in. Valerie Strauss expresses these concerns in her article, “What the Numbers Really Tell Us About America’s Public Schools” in which she discusses how income levels correlate with students’ success rate which is further accentuated through Kamiak and Mariner High School’s Standardized Test Results. “Motivation, a Major Factor in U.S. Student Test Performance” by Dian Schaffhauser continues this idea of external problems affecting low scores

High school dropout rate is a significant indicator of future success in life. For high school dropouts, it is harder to find jobs and earn as much money as their graduated peers. On the outside looking in, not being able to graduate is usually associated with school performance, socioeconomic status, parents’ education level and/or lack of motivation. Moreover, there are also underlying factors of race and gender and they both affect performance in high school immensely. In order to study dropout rates, focus should be put on the group of students at risk of dropping out.

However, many people feel that these tests do not measure any sort of knowledge, but rather indicates the economic background the child came from. According to Kohn, a major spokesperson on the damaging effects of standardized testing, "What standardized tests actually measure best is the economic backgrounds of the groups that take them" (Gallagher). If you broke down the income of the test takers family and measured it in increments of $10,000 you would get a graph where for each increment of income the students score would undoubtedly increase directly. This is because higher income areas have more teaching resources readily available which gives the students a varied and comprehensive learning environment and also attracts more qualified teachers. The high salaries and vast resources available attract many well-qualified teachers vying for the space. Therefore, the school district has an advantage of a larger pool in which to

In Christopher Hayes article Twilight of the Elites the author puts into perspective the inequality low-income students face. The author argues that the test prep industry is a booming multi million-dollar business; the best way to predict a student’s score on standardized test is to look at the child’s parent income. The more money the parent’s have the more money they can contribute to tutoring and test prep materials. It’s quite unfortunate that children from low-income families are left out of the loop it is an unfair disadvantage. Children from low-income families have just as much capability to thrive however; the resources and tools needed for them are not there. The system is set up in away that the upper class will always make

Yes, there are those who are indeed poor and score very well on their standardized tests. An argument that could easily arrive is that there are individuals that are of lower income who do end up scoring very well on their standardized test. To that argument, there is an acknowledgement of human agency, which allows humans to choose, and to behave intentionally. By adding human agency, student’s behavior cannot be determined, but rather probabilistic. Humans have intentions that natural science cannot define or explain on its own. There are individuals who are of lower income that score very well on their SAT, there are also individuals who are of higher income that score very poorly on their SAT. However as a society, the majority of students who come from a lower income family, generally score lower than the majority of students who come from a higher income

One of the most epidemic problems that greatly affects the American public education today is the economic inequality and the resulting gap of academic achievement between rich and poor public schools. The problem started to exacerbate especially in the last fifty years as the gap is still widening and continue to be unsolved. Of course, poor students who come from financially unfortunate families are the main sect that feels its impact the most. Greg Duncan and Katherine Magnuson, a distinguished professor in education and the latter has a Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy, have showed the strong relationship and the inevitable relevance between the academic achievement of students and their families’ income. They noted that poor students from the bottom ten percent of the socioeconomic classes have been recorded to score at around more than a standard deviation lower than those from the top quintile in math and reading (47). In 1965, it was the first attempt from the government to propose, yet an imperfect, solution to the problem by issuing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Then in 1966, the Coleman Report had a major role in raising public opinion toward this issue and disclosing its real dimensions during the War on Poverty movement. Also, in order to understand the real size of this problem, we must consider all the major factors that contribute to this income achievement gap and its evolution over the

Often a specific area speaks volumes about a community, and there is a correlation present between whether the school consists of students who strive for academics or not. If an individual purchases a dwelling in a low income area, often children within that community are more focused on the environment around them rather than school. This means that the child will lack in demonstrating their full potential, as external factors such as gangs and substance abuse can be a threat to development. This is often due to the cycle of poverty, which can only be broken if the individual is educated enough to move forward with a job, help with finances and etc., Discrimination be also be an effect on the development as depending on negative stereotypes such as an individual of Asian descent do well in mathematics, there might be expectations that are not met, which later impacts the individuals self-worth. It would be of benefit if the author had included further research if there is an exact link to standardized test scores and low income areas. The author could have used the Fraser mustard report, which states that early childhood experiences have a powerful effect on development of children’s physical, emotional abilities, and influence intellectual development. A child’s living environment may expose them to poverty, thus causing malnourishment. Emotional damage can be caused by having a low sense of self-worth if they believe their family cannot break the cycle they are living in, and be in constant state of stress affecting their focus in school. Thus, standardized testing can be useful to assess if an area may or may not be suitable for the well-being of a child’s

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

According to recent California statistics, almost a third of the students who begin their freshman year of high school do not graduate four years later. However, there are a few important factors that contribute in these students who fail to graduate from high school. These include a student’s emotional state and situations that happens in life outside of school.

In one year, over 1.3 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. Dropout rates have decreased for the better over the years. “The dropout rate has fallen 3% from 1990 to 2010” (dosomething.org). Of the many students who drop out, only about 63% are presented with a diploma. These students who received a diploma were willing to retake high school courses and gain the knowledge needed to advance to college. A high school dropout is ineligible for about 90% of jobs in America. “High school dropouts are forfeiting their opportunity to pursue the American dream” says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

College graduation and dropout rates have long been used as a central indicator of education system productivity and effectiveness and of social and economic well-being. Today, interest in the accuracy and usefulness of these statistics is particularly acute owing to a confluence of circumstances, including changing demographics, new legislative mandates, and heightened political pressures to reduce the incidence of dropping out. Students who are unable to pass the assessments may simply leave school before graduating. Not everyone drops out because they lack the determination to finish, instead they run into another obstacle while equipped with the motivation. Those of which are trying to regulate the balance of work and school, unexpected family problems, and financial problems.