School dropouts: a silent epidemic

There's been more and more in the news lately about the alarming high-school dropout rate in the United States. Just 30 years ago, it would have been unthinkable for 30 percent of students who started 9th grade to not finish. Not today.

Here are some resources that you might find to be interesting:

• TIME magazine story. A cover story this week by TIME highlights how the number of dropouts is much higher than you think. (The story is available through the TIME site only for subscribers, but you might be able to get a better flavor of it by clicking here.)
  
  
• Silent Epidemic study. A study by Civic Enterprises, which was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was used in large part by the TIME study. Called The Silent Epidemic, it outlines how it's time for businesses, educators and leaders to confront the dropout rate now to ensure the future economic viability of the country. Download The Silent Epidemic.
  
  
• Debunking a myth. According to the Southern Growth Policies Board, another study "debunks the myth that high school dropouts are uninterested in education and examines policies that help these students earn postsecondary credentials. According to researchers, socioeconomic status, not race, is the biggest determinant of whether a student finishes school. These students are amazingly persistent; sixty percent of dropouts earn a high school credential by age 25 and 44 percent go on to pursue a postsecondary degree. Despite high postsecondary enrollment rates, only nine percent of these students graduate with a two or four year degree and less than a quarter of students complete a certificate program." Read the Making Good on a Promise report. (Registration required.)
  
  
• Local effort. A group of leaders in Charleston, S.C., next week will launch a local effort to make people more aware of the area dropout rate, which is more than two in five students. Your community could easily sponsor a similar blog-related effort. Visit the DropInCharleston Web site of dropout resources.