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Dropouts reflect on why they left school, how schools can help students graduate
States should consider raising the age when
students can legally leave school from 16 or 17
to 18, says a report commissioned by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation that is based on
interviews with 467 dropouts aged 16 through
25.
"Students identified 'too much freedom' as a key factor that enabled them to drop out of school, and attendance is a strong predictor of dropping out," says the report, The Silent Epidemic Perspectives of High School Dropouts (www.gatesfoundation.org). "Typically in 10th grade, a 16-year-old student has new found authority under law to make a choice," the report says. "We question the soundness of this policy, particularly since our nation guarantees, and provides substantial resources for a public education through 12th grade. "Our educated guess (and hope) is that raising maximum compulsory school age requirements-- specifically raising the legal dropout age to 18--would . . . have a significant effect on reducing the dropout rate." The key, says the report, is to couple the change "with welltrained staffs, more manageable caseloads, working with other government agencies to support parents and guardians who struggle to keep their children in school, and efforts to address the issues that caused students to leave school." While some states do not allow students to drop out until they are 18, there are also many exemptions with a school district's or parents' permission or for employment, the study notes. Dropouts cited these personal reasons for leaving school:
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation report, based on interviews with a diverse population of dropouts in 25 urban areas, suburbs and towns across the country, is a valuable resource for educators and administrators who want to gain insight into the dropout problem and who want to work to improve the graduation rates at their schools. Classes not interesting When dropouts themselves discussed why they had left school in one-on-one interviews and also in four focus groups, nearly 47% said that "classes were not interesting." This was among the top reasons cited by youths with high GPAs. and who said they were motivated to spent time with other youths who were not interested in school. Among other comments by dropouts were that they would have worked harder if more was demanded (67%) and that they lost interest in school in 9th or 10th grade (71%). When asked what schools could to improve students' chances of staying in school:
Absenteeism warning sign "Dropping out of high school is not a sudden act, but a slow process of disengagement, often both academically and socially," the study says. Some 59-65% of youths missed class often the year they dropped out and 33-45% missed class often the year before they dropped out.Missing too much school was the second most often cited reason for dropping out. "Students described a pattern of refusing to wake up, missing school, skipping class, and taking three hour lunches--and each absence made them less willing to go back." In the Philadelphia focus group one dropout, who only attended school once a week, said that his best days in school were when he worked hard and could talk about what he learned at home. When asked why he only went to school once a week, he said it was because he had too much freedom in the school environment. "The streets would call you," he said. "Being there listening to somebody talking to you all day, writing on the board, and then you start looking outside at the streets… . We got to leave for lunch in my school. And then once we got out there, smelled that fresh air… ." In the focus groups, participants talked about the lack of rules--of being late for school, skipping classes and hanging out in the hallways with no consequences. One Baltimore youth said, "Like in the middle of the year, I just started going out with my friends, and I never went to school. It's like I forgot about it." Too much freedom "'Too much freedom' seemed to relate to the most basic conditions in the school--lack of order, discipline and rules, making sure students attended class, and even limiting chaos that made students feel unsafe," the report says.
What schools can do To encourage students to stay in school, the youths recommended that schools ensure that students have a strong relationship with at least one adult in the school."These young people craved one-on-one attention from their teachers, and when they received it, they remembered it making a difference," the study says. "Participants in the focus groups recounted that some of their best days were when their teachers noticed them, got them involved in class, and told them they were doing well." Increase parental involvement The dropouts said schools should improve communication with parents and increase parental involvement. Less than half said their school contacted their parents or themselves when they were absent (47%) or when they dropped out (48%), the report says."Studies have shown that students with parents who are engaged in their lives--by monitoring and regulating their activities, talking with them about their problems, encouraging individual decision-making and being more involved in the school--are less likely to drop out of school," the report says. The majority of parents were not aware of their child's grades or that they were about to drop out, the youths said. The youths suggested that increased parental involvement could influence students to come to school every day and attend classes. Communication between parents and schools is critical to identifying and addressing problems early, the report says. Recommendations for change Based on the feedback in four focus groups and in interviews with 467 dropouts, the foundation made these additional recommendations for change, especially in districts that have a high dropout rate:Offer more school choices Students in the survey wanted classes more relevant to their interests and work lives and also wanted smaller classes and schools. The Foundation concluded that alternative high schools, theme-based schools, such as ones that focus on science or the arts, or even schools with a rigorous curriculum, could help keep more students in school. Create Individualized graduation plans One way to increase involvement of parents, the study suggests, is by developing individualized graduation plans for each student, particularly those at risk of dropping out. These plans would help the parents become more aware of the specific requirements for their high school students and would also help them advocate for their child. Create early warning systems Schools and districts need to develop early warning systems to identify students who are less likely to succeed in school, the study says. This system should take into accounts students who transfer from school to school. One clear trigger is absenteeism. "Every day, schools should have a reliable list of the students who failed to attend school and should notify parents or guardians immediately and take appropriate action to ensure students attend school and have the support they need to remain in school," the study says. Improve accuracy of graduation rates No Child Left Behind has placed a new focus on graduation rates, but the accountability provisions need to be monitored and enforced, the study says. "It's not unusual for a school to report a 10% dropout rate when the number of graduates is 70% lower than the number of ninth graders who enrolled four years earlier," the researchers say. "Schools often have little or no information about what has happened to a student who disappears, and they tend to make optimistic guesses." Top five reasons for
dropping out of school: Classes were not interesting 47%
Published in ERN March 2006 Volume 19 Number 3
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