Dropout

The California Comprehensive Center at WestEd conducted a research study aimed at identifying middle-to-high school transition practices  at California schools with graduation rates that were higher than predicted. They found that some schools used a “Regional Model” that leveraged collaboration and cross-school communication to ease transition and raise graduation rates.

Last week, NCES released Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2009, a report which identifies trends in dropout and school completion data. The report tracks four different measures of dropout: Event Dropout Rates, Status Dropout Rates, Status Completion Rates, and Average Freshman Graduation Rates (AFGR). Each measure is calculated differently and can be used to inform different educational questions.

When high school students fall behind what happens to them? For many students, some of whom have fallen behind by as much as three years, graduating high school seems like an insurmountable challenge, and many students get lost in the school system. In fact, according to a February 2011 New York Daily News (NYDN) article, there were 106,000 struggling students deemed "overage and under-credited" in city schools last year.

Online education, previously primarily used for promoting accelerated learning, is gaining traction as a widespread alternative to traditional school.   According to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), 82% of U.S. school districts had students enrolled in online classes in 2010.  Most recently, digital learning has been recognized as a useful tool for supporting at-risk and off track students.

This week, National Public Radio (NPR) is airing a five-part series that focuses on the dropout problem in the United States. In an introduction to the series, NPR education correspondent Claudio Sanchez explained that the original impetus for the series was the state of the current U.S.

In 2010, Nebraska passed a law requiring schools to refer students to juvenile court when they accrue over 20 absences.  However, according to the Omaha World Herald, new data suggests that the number of students who missed more than 20 days may have increased during the 2010-2011 school year.  In light of this preliminary data, Nebraska is considering possible improvements to the law.  A task force convened in early July 2011 suggested focusing on curbing truancy in elementary school before it becomes habitual.  The

On June 7, 2011, Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) released Diplomas Count 2011: Beyond High School, Before Baccalaureate—Meaningful Alternatives to a Four-Year Degree. This edition, the sixth in the annual series by the publisher of Education Week, follows previous versions of Diplomas Count by reporting graduation rates throughout the nation, but also has a special focus on the space between high school graduation and a four-year college education.