These engaging narratives and unique insights will help readers to better understand the interplay of school-related and personal factors that lead students to drop out of school. It is essential reading for K12 educators, school principals, counselors, psychologists, and everyone concerned with our nations dropout crisis.
The vast majority of kids in the developed world finish high school—but not in the United States. More than a million kids drop out every year, around 7,000 a day, and the numbers are rising. Dropping Out offers a comprehensive overview by one of the country’s leading experts, and provides answers to fundamental questions: Who drops out, and why? What happens to them when they do? How can we prevent at-risk kids from short-circuiting their futures? Students start disengaging long before they get to high school, and the consequences are severe—not just for individuals but for the larger society and economy. Dropouts never catch up with high school graduates on any measure. They are less likely to find work at all, and more likely to live in poverty, commit crimes, and suffer health problems. Even life expectancy for dropouts is shorter by seven years than for those who earn a diploma. Russell Rumberger advocates targeting the most vulnerable students as far back as the early elementary grades. And he levels sharp criticism at the conventional definition of success as readiness for college. He argues that high schools must offer all students what they need to succeed in the workplace and independent adult life. A more flexible and practical definition of achievement—one in which a high school education does not simply qualify you for more school—can make school make sense to young people. And maybe keep them there.
Higher education today faces a host of challenges, from quality to cost. But too little attention gets paid to a startling fact: four out of ten students -- that's more than ten percent of the entire population - -who start college drop out. The situation is particularly dire for black and Latino students, those from poor families, and those who are first in their families to attend college. In The College Dropout Scandal, David Kirp outlines the scale of the problem and shows that it's fixable - -we already have the tools to boost graduation rates and shrink the achievement gap. Many college administrators know what has to be done, but many of them are not doing the job - -the dropout rate hasn't decreased for decades. It's not elite schools like Harvard or Williams who are setting the example, but places like City University of New York and Long Beach State, which are doing the hard work to assure that more students have a better education and a diploma. As in his New York Times columns, Kirp relies on vivid, on-the-ground reporting, conversations with campus leaders, faculty and students, as well as cogent overviews of cutting-edge research to identify the institutional reforms--like using big data to quickly identify at-risk students and get them the support they need -- and the behavioral strategies -- from nudges to mindset changes - -that have been proven to work. Through engaging stories that shine a light on an underappreciated problem in colleges today, David Kirp's hopeful book will prompt colleges to make student success a top priority and push more students across the finish line, keeping their hopes of achieving the American Dream alive.
High school graduation and dropout rates have long been used as indicators of educational system productivity and effectiveness and of social and economic well being. While determining these rates may seem like a straightforward task, their calculation is in fact quite complicated. How does one count a student who leaves a regular high school but later completes a GED? How does one count a student who spends most of his/her high school years at one school and then transfers to another? If the student graduates, which school should receive credit? If the student drops out, which school should take responsibility? High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates addresses these issues and to examine (1) the strengths, limitations, accuracy, and utility of the available dropout and completion measures; (2) the state of the art with respect to longitudinal data systems; and (3) ways that dropout and completion rates can be used to improve policy and practice.
Through engaging stories and the use of students’ voices, this book corrects persistent misconceptions about youth who drop out of high school. Based on research conducted with high school dropouts in both urban and rural communities, the authors argue that, contrary to popular belief, most dropouts are not disengaged from school at an early age. Many have positive memories of their education, both social and academic, that educators and policymakers can draw on to create successful prevention and intervention practices. The narratives and insights presented here will help readers to better understand the interplay of school-related and personal factors that lead students to drop out of school. “Why We Drop Out” is essential reading for K–12 educators, school principals, counselors, psychologists, and everyone concerned with our nation’s dropout crisis. “Every educator will recognize in these stories the daily opportunities that adults have to reach out and grab onto kids who are desperate for a hand and just need someone to pull them over that line.” —From the Foreword by Camille A. Farrington, PhD, author of Failing at School: Lessons for Redesigning Urban High Schools “This book greatly improves our understanding of the complex and long-term process of dropping out of high school.” —Russell W. Rumberger, UC Santa Barbara, director, California Dropout Research Project “A must-read for any teacher, principal, or superintendent interested in changing the lives of our students most at risk.” —Greg Baker, superintendent, Bellingham Public Schools “This is a book that everyone with a stake in education must read!” —Dr. Shivohn Garcia, SUNY Empire State College
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