Flourish or Fail?: The Risky Reward of Elite High School Admission in Mexico City

Admission to an elite school imposes substantial risks on many students while offering modest academic benefits relative to admission in their most preferred nonelite school. Using variation in school assignment generated by the allocation mechanism, we find that admission to a system of elite public high schools in Mexico City increases the probability of high school dropout by 9.4 percentage points. Students with weaker middle school grades and whose commutes are lengthened by elite admission experience a larger rise in dropout probability. On the other hand, elite admission raises end-of-high-school math test scores for the marginal admittee, even when accounting for potential bias due to admission-induced dropout

The Dropout Crisis: Promising Approaches in Prevention and Recovery

The number of high school age students who do not complete high school is receiving increased attention as a serious challenge facing the educational system. This is happening for several reasons. New research estimates that about 30 percent of high school students fail to earn a diploma in the standard number of years, a higher figure than state and local education officials typically cite. In many states, barely half of African-Americans and Latinos graduate from high school. The magnitude of the challenge is becoming clear at the same time that a consensus is emerging that education beyond high school is critical to economic self-sufficiency and success in today's knowledge-intensive economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 60 percent of jobs created between now and 2010 will require at least some postsecondary education. In the emerging economy, a high school dropout or a young person who earns a GED, but no further postsecondary credential, has extremely few opportunities for a family-supporting career. Addressing the dropout crisis will require responding to a dual challenge: state education systems must promote and support both dropout prevention strategies and dropout recovery efforts. This brief describes current practice in both prevention and recovery, highlighting promising approaches in each area that can help reduce stubbornly high dropout rates. It concludes with several suggestions for how state policymakers can help promote a more systemic approach to the dropout crisis

Dropouts: The Achilles' Heel of Canada's High-School System

The high dropout rate among francophone Quebec students, particularly boys, has recently received considerable attention in that province. Media coverage has been extensive, indicating widespread public concern. However, the high-school dropout-rate problem is not restricted to Quebec. Based on the 2006 census, four provinces – Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Alberta – have higher dropout rates among those aged 20 to 24 than do Quebec francophones.social policy, high school dropout rate

Why Are Students Dropping Out of School? The Factors that Contribute to the United States High School Dropout Rate

With a very fluctuating economy and an unstable job market, a high school diploma as well as a continued education is becoming extremely important. An increasing amount of businesses will not even consider a job application unless a person has a high school diploma. The Bureau of Labor Statistics contains data showing the increase in opportunities that a person with a high school diploma has in comparison to a person that has dropped out of high school. The data shows that only 55% of high school dropouts were employed from the year 2000 through 2005 as opposed to 71% of high school graduates (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008 52:2 26). Although receiving an education is important to success later in life, students who are dropping out of high school and not receiving a high school diploma is a problem that our country is facing (Townsend, Flisher, and King 2007:295). Recent data shows that there is about a 12 percent dropout rate and that the dropout rate of more secluded areas can increase to about 20 or even 40 percent (Hardre and Reeve 2003:347). Why are high school students still dropping out of school? What are the factors that contribute to high school students dropping out of school? Finally, how can this issue be further researched? The literature review topic that I have chosen deals with the factors that contribute to the United States high school dropout rate. There has been a considerable amount of research concerning the factors that affect high school dropout rates. The factors include changes in family structure and income, relationship with parents due to changes in family structure, teacher support, motivation, and school performance, substance use and abuse, and finally residential location. It is hypothesized that these factors will increase the likelihood of a high school student in the United States to dropout. The topic is sociologically relevant because pursuing an education is a social norm; therefore dropping out is breaking that social norm. The topic is also sociologically relevant because it creates awareness towards the factors that lead to dropping out of high school in the United States and continued research could potentially prevent future students from dropping out of school

Which California School Districts Have the Most Dropouts?

Compares high school dropout rates between districts as well as between traditional and non-traditional schools. Includes a link to data on numbers of schools, enrollment, numbers of dropouts, and dropout rates, by county, district, and type of school

Exit Exams and High School Dropout

In this paper, I consider the impact of the expansion of exams students must pass in order to graduate high school on dropout rates. "Exit exams," as these tests are known, have become more common, and more difficult. These exams are controversial, with opponents claiming they drive marginal students out of school, and proponents arguing they align student interests with those of the school and encourage teachers and administrators to provide effort and resources on the students' behalf. I make use of the fact that when states implement exit exams, they first affect a specific graduating class. So in some states, some students in high school are required to pass these exams, while students in the grade above are not. Using a state-grade panel constructed from the Common Core of Data I find evidence that the recent expansion of exit exams has resulted in a modest increase in high school dropout rates in the aggregate, but a large increase among students in 12th grade, where additional attempts to pass exams are not possible. I also find that a policy often used to limit the impacts of exit exams on high school completion has only limited effect: Dropout rates in states where students can earn a diploma or credential even when unable to pass exit exams, dropout increases in 12th grade at about the same rate as in other states without such alternative pathways. This suggests that at least some of the impact is due to stop-out on the part of students.high school dropout, exit exams, accountability, attainment

Adolescent Drinking and High School Dropout

This paper estimates the effect of binge and frequent drinking by adolescents on subsequent high school dropout using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Young Adults. We estimate an instrumental variables model with an indicator of any past month alcohol use, which is by definition correlated with heavy drinking but should have minimal additional impact on educational outcomes, as the identifying instrument, and also control for a rich set of potentially confounding variables, including maternal characteristics and dropout risk factors measured before and during adolescence. In comparison, OLS provides conservative estimates of the causal impact of heavy drinking on dropping out, implying that binge or frequent drinking among 15 %uF81816 year old students lowers the probability of having graduated or being enrolled in high school four years later by at least 11 percent. Overidentification tests using two measures of maternal youthful alcohol use as additional instruments support our identification strategy.

Why Students Drop Out of School: A Review of 25 Years of Research

Reviews research on the underlying causes of the high school dropout crisis -- individual and institutional characteristics that predict whether a student is likely to drop out of high school. Discusses student engagement, deviance, and other models

Forgotten Youth: Re-Engaging Students Through Dropout Recovery

Each year, thousands of Massachusetts students drop out of school. The path forward for these students is difficult, and failing to fully educate the next generation of workers and leaders has substantial long-term consequences for our shared economic and social well-being. To address this, policymakers have devoted significant attention in recent years to raising high school graduation rates through dropout reduction strategies. Missing from this agenda, however, is any significant focus on dropout recovery, the act of re-engaging and re-enrolling students who leave school before graduating. Without a more systemic approach to connect with out-of-school youth, we will continue to struggle to fulfill our commitment to educate all students.To address this need, Boston Public Schools has established the Re-Engagement Center, a dropout recovery program that strives to re-enroll out-of-school youth through outreach, personal connections, and a variety of educational options that support students to graduation. The Rennie Center conducted a case study of the Re-Engagement Center in Spring 2012, the findings of which are highlighted in the policy brief Forgotten Youth: Re-Engaging Students Through Dropout Recovery.The purpose of this brief is to make a contribution to a growing body of work about dropout recovery. The brief begins by discussing the role of dropout recovery as a strategy to increase the graduation rate, identifies common practices in other dropout recovery models, and documents the development and operation of the Re-Engagement Center. Forgotten Youth then identifies promising practices and ongoing challenges of this program, and concludes by offering considerations -- based on literature and research findings -- for school and district leaders, community partners, and state policymakers

Meeting the Challenge: Fiscal Implications of Dropout Prevention in Massachusetts

In 2009, for the first time in a decade, Massachusetts' dropout rate fell below three percent. While this progress is promising, there remain nearly 8,300 students who did not earn their high school diplomas during the 2009-2010 school year. Given that these individuals face significantly lower earning potential, fewer prospects for employment, much higher rates of incarceration and health problems, and are much more likely to utilize public assistance than those who graduate, there is continued cause for concern and attention to the goal of ensuring that every student receives their high school diploma.In the current environment of constrained resources, many districts are reluctant to launch new programs or improve existing services that provide additional supports for students at risk of dropping out. Declines in revenue combined with rising costs have constricted local education budgets, forcing superintendents and school business officers to make tough decisions about which programs to fund and which must be cut. It is within this context that the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy engaged in a study to not only explore promising dropout reduction approaches across Massachusetts, but to also examine the costs and benefits of promising practices for reducing the number of students dropping out of school.Meeting the Challenge: Fiscal Implications of Dropout Prevention in Massachusetts, conducted with support from the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officers (MASBO), explores the approaches, costs and potential financial benefits of implementing dropout reduction strategies. It highlights a diverse group of five Massachusetts districts that have substantially reduced their dropout rates over the past three years and identifies the district-wide policies and school-based strategies that superintendents and principals indicate have contributed to reducing the number of students dropping out of school. The brief also presents two scenarios that illustrate how, for some districts, per pupil funding obtained from increased enrollment due to successful dropout prevention strategies can be allocated to serve at-risk students.Considerations for School and District LeadersIncorporate strategies that promote engagement and student success into every aspect of the school experience.Support staff in taking on new roles and responsibilities.Analyze data to determine what works and allocate resources accordingly.Use the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Early Warning Indicator Index to budget for dropout prevention initiatives for incoming high school students.Formalize strategies for reaching out to and re-engaging students who have dropped out.Considerations for State PolicymakersWork to establish sustainable funding streams for districts' dropout prevention initiatives.Continue to promote, provide and seek ways to expand data collection and analysis tools for schools and districts.Strengthen the ability of districts to establish partnerships with community based social service agencies, local businesses and institutions of higher education.Facilitate outreach to dropouts.Expand alternative education options.This policy brief was released at a public event on March 1st, 2011