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State Government for March 2005
Increase in Dropout Rate Worries Educators
By Steve Tuttle
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For the first time in
over a decade, the number of teenagers dropping out of school rose in North
Carolina last year. According to a report by the state Department of Public
Instruction, 20,817 students dropped out in grades 7-12. The number for
grades 9-12 was 20,035.
These
rates represent slight increases over the data for 2002-03 when the dropout
rate was 3.23 percent for grades 7-12 and 4.78 percent for grades 9-12. The
overall trendline since 1988-89 has been positive with a smaller percentage
of students dropping out over time. In 1988-89, the first year of an actual
counted dropout rate rather than an estimated one, the rate was 4.85 percent
for grades 7-12 and 6.66 percent for grades 9-12.
State
Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee said concerns about the dropout rate,
even in years when the rate declined, were a driving force behind the
board’s recent work to reinvent high schools.
“North
Carolina is leading the country in reforming high schools so that students
have a relevant education that gives them the tools they need for the higher
paying, skilled jobs of the new economy,” said Lee. “We are committed to
high academic standards and will never go down the easy road of social
promotion. We will make sure that every child is ready to learn and that
every child will one day be ready to earn.”
“Every
student who drops out of school represents lost potential for the student,
for his or her family, for the community and for the state,” said State
Superintendent Patricia Willoughby. “It is vitally important for all
students to earn high school diplomas and to be well prepared for
adulthood.”
The state
board and Department of Public Instruction are involved in a variety of
efforts in this area. The New Schools Project, which launched an action plan
for high school innovation at two statewide meetings in December, is a
public-private partnership funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. The goal of this effort is to support “new” high schools with
smaller, more focused and more personable learning environments. The New
Schools Project is projected to support as many as 50 high schools.
Learn and
Earn, an effort announced in 2004 by Gov. Mike Easley, focuses on high
schools that partner with community colleges and colleges or universities to
provide college experiences and credit to high school students.
The State
Board of Education formed an Ad Hoc Committee on Rigor, Relevance and
Relationships in 2004 to study high school issues, including ways to enhance
the rigor of learning and the relevance of the curriculum. As part of this
work, the Board has approved a framework for new high school exit standards
that includes a senior project and requirements that students pass
end-of-course tests in core high school subjects.
“We are
doing more to make sure students value their education and to make sure that
their education has value outside of the classroom,” concluded Willoughby.
For the
second year in a row, the board has expressed interest in seeking
legislation that would raise the compulsory attendance age to 17. Board
members feel age 16 is too young for a student to make the critical decision
to drop out of school.
Dropout data have been collected each year since 1988-89,
although specific reporting methods changed in 1991 to conform to new
federal guidelines and in 1999 because of changes in the state’s definition
of a dropout.
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