I’m Mario Ritter with the VOA Special English Education
Report.
Many young people in the United States never finish high school. Exactly how
many drop out is another issue. Recent studies of dropout
rates have had conflicting results.
For one thing, schools define and measure their dropout rates differently.
Some researchers say about fifteen to twenty percent of public school
students do not complete their education. But many other experts and
policymakers believe that for the past twenty years, the dropout rate has been
around thirty percent.
For Latino and black students, the numbers are
even higher. Researchers say almost half of them leave school.
At the same time, almost half the states let students leave school before the
age of eighteen without informing their parents.
Finding a good job without a high school education is more and more
difficult. A Northeastern University study in 2002 found that almost half of all
dropouts age sixteen to twenty-four did not have a job.
The lack of a high school education can also lead to other problems. An
estimated two-thirds of prisoners in the United States dropped out of high
school.
Recent studies have shown that the majority of students who drop out do not
do it because they are failing. Many are bored with their classes or feel
disconnected from their school and teachers. Some students feel that educators
place low expectations on them. Teen pregnancies also add to the dropout
problem.
During the past twenty years, there have been efforts to increase graduation
rates through education reforms. Some communities are working on dropout
prevention programs. These include alternative high schools to meet special
needs.
Some programs, for example, provide free transportation and childcare to help
young mothers and fathers finish school. Yet special programs can cost a lot,
and many school systems have limited budgets.
Federal spending on second-chance programs to help students finish school has
decreased from the 1970s. This was shown in a report last year from the
Educational Testing Service.
Experts suggest "early warning systems" to help identify young schoolchildren
at risk of dropping out of high school. They say schools also need to get
parents more involved, especially if their children are missing school often.
This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Brianna Blake. I’m
Mario Ritter.
dropout rate: 輟學率
