Why are students leaving school without a diploma? Who are these students? The NEA statistics are in.
The National Education Association has developed a 12-point plan to help students stay in school. The points are well-founded but how is this to be funded? One point suggests offering a graduation center for students ages 19-21 that want to return and get a diploma. Another point suggests that students should receive individual attention. That is very difficult in a large school and can even be challenging in a small school. Funding is key to implementing the NEA Plan.
Demographics
Who are the students that drop out?
- 11.6 % male
- 9% female
- 6.8% white
- 11.8% African American
- 23.8% Hispanic
No Child Left Behind is beginning to emphasize graduation rates. Many schools do not keep accurate data and may not even know the drop out rate. Students leave for different reasons but many state that school is not relevant to them. The NEA wants to make dropouts a federal priority with federal funding.
Source: www.nea.org
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Copyright article 2008 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
