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ONE-THIRD OF A NATION:
AMERICA'S ESCALATING HIGH SCHOOL
DROPOUT CRISIS
As Congress, governors, and state education officials turn their
attention now to high school reform, a new report from ETS warns that little
is being done to address rising dropout rates, declining earnings for
dropouts in the job market, and reduced
public investments in effective second-chance efforts. Issued by
ETS's
Policy
Information
Center, the report tracks
dwindling high school completion rates throughout the 1990s, which persist
today. The report also found clear evidence that more students are dropping
out earlier, between ninth and tenth grades. Coupled with the finding of too
few counselors and a steep decline in federal investment, from about $15
billion in the late 1970s to about $3 billion today, the outlook is not
good. "This is a story of losing ground," writes author Paul Barton. "At
the same time that the dropout rate is increasing and
out-of-school education and training
opportunities are dwindling, the economic status of young dropouts
has been in a free fall since the late 1970s. Employment and earnings
prospects have declined and even for those who work full time, earnings have
dropped steadily to averages around the poverty line for a family with
children."
http://www.ets.org/research/pic/onethird.pdf (This is an Acrobat Reader
File)
Source: PEN Weekly NewsBlast
for
February 25, 2005
____________________________________________
Editorial comment from
Barry Shaffer: This report shows a serious dropout concern for
Minnesota. To complicate this, I have a “suspicion” that like many state’s,
Minnesota's drop-out rate as reported by school districts to the state is
inaccurate and possibly fraudulent – at the least, it is seriously under-counted
or under-reported for financial (aid entitlement) reasons.
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