Why Students Drop Out Of High School

Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of

“What’s the key to success in the United States?”(Steinberg,2010), author Jacques Steinberg starts off his article “Plan B: Skip College” with a powerful question that has been asked by many Americans. Majority of Americans first thoughts would be higher education. The ideology that obtaining a degree is the best and sometimes only way to be successful in the American economy. This has been instilled in numerous children growing up. Steinberg states “perhaps no more than half of who began a four-year bachelor's degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years according to the department of education”(Steinberg,2010). Students who tend to not excel in high school often take longer, or at times finish a higher education at all. These

Earning a diploma, a degree or even a trade can significantly affect one's future financial status. An education-or lack thereof- can mean the difference between being poverty stricken or financially stable. College graduates earn an average of 66 percent more than non graduates and often enjoy additional benefits, including greater job opportunities and promotions.(Source: study.org) However,  according to spotlightonpoverty.org, 69 percent of students graduate from college on time, yet many graduate without the skills needed for college or work. Without an education chances of obtaining a decent paying job is slim, which can result in a life of impoverishment. "Policymakers and education leaders must implement strategies to reduce the high school dropout rate and adequately prepare high school students for college, while providing low income students with the support they need to attain a degree or credential."

Although holding a degree doesn’t have muchpower as it did decades ago, people who have a bachelor’s degree earn twice as more than peoplewith a high school diploma. Most students do not have the capability of enduring four moreyears of college, and furthermore indicate that not everyone should be able to attend highereducation.Higher education is supposed to be considered an essential component of a democraticsociety. It is almost a rite of passage to seek college after high school graduation. Societynowadays requires basic analysis of finance, education, and public health in order to prosper inAmerica. But due to low demand of motivation for college, students are highly discouraged on

Many high school student and young adults who dream of becoming well educated are unable to because they do not have access to higher education due to their economic status. Nearly 85 percent of middle school aged children in the US say they would like to earn a college degree yet only 44 percent of students from poor families are enrolled by October following high school graduation (Haveman, 2006). About 59 percent of students finish their

According to Arne Duncan, 25% of U.S. high school students drop out or do not graduate on time, which is one out of every four people. In the article, “The Vision of Education Reform in the United States,” Duncan also informs that, “Almost one million students leave our schools for the streets each year.” (Duncan). The U.S. used to lead the world in college attainment but is tied for ninth now. The students themselves willingly choose to give up expanding their knowledge, which negatively affects their future. Consequently, they are unable to obtain a well-paying occupation for the price of inadequately acquiring their diploma.

The United States is a unique place in our world today and one of the remaining true capitalistic countries. Generation after generation in the fifty states have been spoon-fed the idea of the American dream being the main goal to strive for in life. College has become more popular in the past few decades than ever before with more people realizing that it’s nessesary to get a head start on the rest of the field and to begin the journey to the American dream. With a little more than one-quarter of high school

1.2 millions of teenagers drop out of school in the United States every year. According to the National Center for Education, 79 thousand students have dropped out of high school in California, and the main question is why? Many of the times are because students tend to go on the wrong path. They start to hang out with the wrong people that don't want to have an education and are only going to school because they are forced to. When I was in high school I was so dictated to have the best grades possible. I was on the Avid program and involved in many of the extracurricular activities that Modesto High offered. I wanted my sister who was a freshman at the time to get involved in school activities, but instead, she got in involved with the wrong people. Her 4th-period teacher didn’t even

The purpose of this study is to explore ways to assist and/or intervene at-risk students in order to set them on the path towards graduation. The NCES reported the graduation rate declined from 12% to 7% during 1990 – 2013. These are good improvements, however, we must continue take the necessary steps to lower these numbers for future generations. Graduation will open up a world of opportunities that might not other-wise be available to them without a high school diploma. According to an article in PBS Frontline in 2012, an individual without a high school diploma can earn, a national average of, $20,241 a year. That is $10,386 less than a person who graduated from high school. $10,000 does not sound like a lot of money spread out over an entire year, but it averages out to be an extra $200 a week. In my opinion, that is significant. Someone who goes on to earn their bachelor degree can expect to earn an additional $36,364 per year. What many students do not understand is that without high school graduation they cannot enter the military or qualify for many lower scale jobs as these require a diploma or high school equivalency. There are so many factors that contribute to a student’s decision to stay in school or to dropout but if communities and schools can intervene, maybe the national dropout rate can be lowered lending to a better life for all involved.

The dream of going to college is one held by many aspiring high schoolers, especially in the 21st century. College education itself is becoming more of a prerequisite rather than an additional option for getting a high paying job. Jennifer Hochschild, a Harvard Professor, noted in her 2000 publication that “[Public education] represents the nation’s greatest effort to turn the ideology of the American Dream into practice” (Hochschild 2). College, in the terms of the American dream, is a means to an end: the end being a high paying, high rewarding job.

It has long been known that success in today’s world requires more than just a high school diploma. In 2009, President Obama made this a goal of education reform and challenged Americans to pursue post-secondary or career education in an effort to grow a competitive workforce and to restore America’s position as a leader in the global economy. For individuals, increased degree attainment leads to higher wage earnings (Baum, Kurose, & Ma, 2013 as cited in Karp, 2015), and decreased unemployment (Baum et al, 2013). Despite the data on the value of higher education for individuals, there has been limited growth in college enrollment rate of those from low income families. (Baum et al, 2013) The postsecondary reform agenda addressed college readiness

Too many kids are leaving school before graduation. High school dropouts rates are increasing everyday. 7,000 students drop out of school each day. One thing that they fail to realize is the cause and effect this will have on their lives. A study from the Alliance for Excellent Education predicts that 12 million kids will drop out in the next decade. Everyday there is a student that drops out of school because of the mentally challenges he/she faces. Stress can be a very hard thing on students mind. Everyday a student 's life can become very stressful. Also peer pressure from can be detrimental. Drugs also play a big role in today’s high school dropout. Another cause are grades. Some students drop out due to failing

John Holt’s position is presented with extreme negativity. “Almost every child, on the first day he sets foot in a school building, is smarter, more curious, less afraid of what he does not know, better at finding and figuring things out, more confident, resourceful, persistent and independent than he will ever be again in his schooling…” (72). Throughout Holt’s essay, he highlights how he feels that schooling changes the child’s perception of learning and limits their creative thinking. He compares teachers to sergeants, he believes they are a major contribution to the problems that he addresses. After offering his criticism, Holt presents six suggestions that he feels would improve the education of children in America. He believes there should be no mandatory attendance at schools, kids should learn more outside of the school building and more in the world, there should be more learning from adults in the community, more opportunities to learn from fellow students, children should be judging their own work, and there should not be fixed curriculum.

There are a lot of reasons why one might dropout of School. Some people just don’t feel motivated anymore while others have external reasons, such as family issues. Whatever the reason, there is an epidemic in the American school system. African Americans are dropping out at a higher rate than any race. According to Cde.ca.Gov: “Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s a student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day”. According to Mecurynews “In Alameda county alone African- Americans had a 67 percent graduation rate while having a 20.1 percent dropout rate. In contrast whites and Asians in the same county had a 91 percent graduation rate.” Growing up in Oakland, CA and going to school in

Stop, do not drop out .Over a dozen of students drop out of school every year. One thing they fail to realize is the pros and cons that this sacrifice has on their life. Dropping out of school is one of the biggest decisions that one can do. The causes for students dropping out can also be helped if they talk to the right people. Three of the main causes for High School Students dropping out are Low parent engagement, Poor Academic Performance, and they thought it would be easier to get a GED. Life for students can become very hard very quickly. The peer pressure received from teen students can be hurtful. Most high school students hang around the wrong crowd, which starts them to start smoking, drinking, etc. Eighty percent of students who end up involved with these drugs either drop out or end up getting a GED. Another main principle in students dropping out of school is grades. Teens do not put in the time and work into getting good grades, which causes their grades to get very low which causes them to go to summer school. This can be a big supplying factor for dropouts. Lastly most teens drop out of school because of the funds. In the year Two thousand and sixteen, lots of families have low income, meaning they do not have the best things when it comes to clothing, shoes, haircuts, etc. which causes them to get talked about at school and causes them to drop out due to them not wanting to get bullied every day. There are multiple reasons for the high school dropout,