Across the country, our high schools are failing. The Alliance for Excellent Education has outlined some of the costs of this failure. So, for example:
- 70 percent of eighth graders can’t read at grade level, and a mere 3 percent of all eighth graders read at an advanced level.
- Though fourth grade reading scores have risen in the past few years, America's eighth and twelfth grade scores have remained essentially flat since the 1970s.
Download a fact sheet here.
According to the Alliance, In Indiana:
- If the nearly 25,000 high school dropouts from the Class of 2007 had earned their diplomas instead of dropping out, Indiana’s economy would have seen an additional $6.4 billion in wages over these students’ lifetimes.
- If the high school dropouts who currently head households in Indiana had earned their diplomas, the state’s economy would have benefited from an additional $1.6 billion in wealth accumulated by families.
- If all of the students in Indiana who are estimated to drop out of school this year earn diplomas instead, the state could save more than $284 million in health care costs over the course of those young people’s lifetimes.
Indiana spends over $40 million each year to provide community college remediation education for recent high school graduates who did not acquire the basic skills necessary to succeed in college or at work. Learn more.
In rural America, we have a wonderful opportunity to re-invent our high schools. Read the inspiring story of one rural school district in Indiana.
At Purdue, we worked with Deb Howe, the superintendent, to help her realize her dream of a more dynamic rural community energized by a new approach to high school. You can read more about her initiative to re-invent high school in Rochester, IN here.
Only 64% of the ninth graders graduate in Mississippi. Mississippi has set a target to reduce the dropout rate by 50% in five years. Read more.
The dropout problem is gaining more attention recently. For example, Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star launched a series on the issue yesterday exploring social promotion. Read more.
Last week, the Detroit Free Press outlined some solutions. Read more.
At the same time, hearings are taking place across the state to address the issue. Read more.
South Carolina is addressing the issue by connecting businesses more closely to high schools. Read more.
Last month, AT&T announced a $100 million effort to reduce dropouts. Read more.
What would Indiana look like in five years if we set the same target as Mississippi: Cut dropouts by 50%?
Here are some basic resources to learn more about reducing dropouts:
Alliance for Excellent Education
America's Promise Alliance
The Silent Epidemic report from the Gates Foundation
National Dropout Prevention Center
The National Center for Responsive Philathropy has released a report titled Rural Philanthropy: Building Dialogue from Within. This W.K. Kellogg Foundation report suggests grantmaking behavior and trends are skewed heavily toward support for urban-based or urban-focused programs. The report explores both real and perceived barriers between rural nonprofits and foundations in urban areas, as well as strategies for overcoming those obstacles. The complete report can be found here. 
