The Dropout Crisis in the United States

Conventional wisdom states that there seems to be a crisis concerning the dropout rate of students in the United States, specifically Black and Latino(a) students. These students traditionally do not achieve the level of success in school and have a higher dropout rate than their White counterparts. Nationally, high school graduation rates are low for all students, with only an estimated 68% of those who enter 9th grade graduating with a regular diploma in 12th grade (Orfield, Walkson, Wald, & Swanson, 2004). This situation is especially evident in inner city schools, which now cater to a high percentage of minority students. In 2001, only 50% of all Black students and 53% of all Hispanic students graduated from high school. While the achievement gap between White and Hispanic students has shrunk since the 1980s, that gap still exists and is still evident in statistical analysis of the situation. More worrisome is that even after new legislation was passed and curriculum was changed, the number of minority students dropping out of school is still greater than the number for White students. Ironically, some statistics show that the accountability aspect of No Child Left Behind has actually caused more students to drop out of school (McNeil, Coppola, Radigan, & Vasquez Heilig, 2008). Another factor in the high percentage of dropouts by Latino(a) students is the number of immigrants and ESL students who do not receive adequate instruction and are unable to complete the requirements to graduate or even be promoted. These factors are just two examples as to why the dropout rate for monitory students continues to be worrisome situation in the United States.
With the implementation and enforcement of No Child Left Behind, high-stakes test-based accountability has become the national norm in public schools. This system emphasizes accountability based on standardized test achievement, putting an unprecedented amount of responsibility on schools and their administrations. Students are required to meet passing scores on certain standardized tests, with emphasis being places on math and English language arts education. When these scores are not met, consequences include administration and staff removal and the possibility of school restructuring if scores do not improve over a three year period (McNeil et al., 2008). While standardized tests scores have increased across the nation, the dropout rate has among minority students has increased as well. It is quite possible that the accountability policy in schools, especially in high-poverty schools in major urban districts, has a direct impact on the severity of the dropout population. A study done by McNeil et al. (2008) analyzed data for 271,000 students in a high need urban high school in Texas shows that in that district, there has been a direct link between high stakes accountability and the dropout rate, especially for minority students. Most importantly, this study shows that the this accountability system puts the most vulnerable youth, the poor, the English language learners, and
African American and Latino children, at risk of being pushed out of their schools so the school ratings can show “measurable improvement” (McNeil et al., 2008).
The problem with the high-stakes accountability system not lies in the concept, but in the method being used to achieve the necessary standardized test scores schools need to meet the criteria for exemplary status. In order to meet these criteria, many schools across the nation have implemented a new criterion for promotion. In order to be promoted to the 10th grade, students need to have passed certain core classes, regardless of how many credits they have completed. For example, if a 9th grade student needs 15 credits to graduate to the 10th grade and has 15 credits, but failed to pass Algebra I, then he/she cannot move to the 10th grade. Likewise, if a 10th grade student does not pass a state test in the 10th grade, he/she cannot move on to the 11th grade. In one New York City public high school, the 9th grade retention rate for Black students was 27% while the retention rate for Latino(a) students was at 30% in 2002 (Orfield et al., 2004). The school required all 9th grade students to show mastery of core subjects which included math, social studies, English, and science. Students in the 9th grade who could not show mastery of these subjects did not progress to the 10th grade. The percentage of White student retention in the same year was at 8% (Orfield et al., 2004). If these students are held back, they are not longer eligible to take the state tests mandated in 10th grade since they are no longer part of the 10th grade cohort. The students who are eligible to progress to the 10th grade have a very likely chance that they will pass the state mandated test if they completed all of their core requirements and have a sufficient amount of credits, resulting in school wide improvement on the standardized tests.
What happens to the students that do not progress to the next grade varies. In some situations, students must repeat the class they failed or repeat the entire grade over again. Some students are required to take test prep classes while others must wait to take the standardized test they failed again. In many of these cases, what the students did not successfully pass the first time, they do not pass the second time, or even the third. The students are simply being put through the system again, with little change from the first time. Many districts, especially large ones in urban settings, seemingly do very little to help students complete their programs after the first time. It is the students who are left behind because of the accountability system that constitute the majority of the dropout rate in the United States.
Traditionally, Latino(a) and Black students do not achieve the same level of success in terms of high school completion. In 2005, 11% of Blacks and 23% of Latino students aged 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school, compared to 6% of White students (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). In 2005, Latino (a) students constituted 41% of the total drop out rate while only making up 17% of the entire school aged population. The high rate for Latino(a) students is in part the result of the high proportion of immigrants in the 16 to 24 year-old age group who have never attended school in the United States. Data from 2004 shows that more than half of foreign-born Latino(a) youths who were considered dropouts had never enrolled in a U.S. school and 80 percent of the group that did enroll in school were reported as either speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). While there are other factors that contribute to the high percentage of Latino(a) young adults considered dropouts, language is a major barrier to participation in and completion of U.S. schools. Immigrants who attend U.S. schools are often expected to master the English language and complete the same state and federal standards. Unfortunately, many LEP students are not proficient in the three year time period expected and cannot meet the standards set by the federal government. Research shows that while it takes five to seven years for a student to become proficient in the English language in a public school classroom setting, LEP students are expected to take a math test after 12 months of enrollment and again in their second year, when the scores will be counted (Orfield et al., 2004). If students do not meet the necessary criteria, they are unable to progress through school, also contributing to the high dropout rate among minorities, especially regarding the Latino(a) population in the United States.
Such factors as the new high-stakes accountability and difficult expectations set for all students to accomplish have contributed to the high dropout rate among minority students, one must also acknowledge that this situation is a crisis of youth at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale, regardless of race and ethnicity. Socioeconomic status and early academic failure are the leading predictors of dropping out (Mishel & Roy, 2007). To address these problems, there needs to be a comprehensive effort to improve schools including offering alternative programs and second chance systems, very different than the high-stakes accountability system that is now standard across the nation.

References
McNeil, L. M., Coppola, E., Radigan, J., & Vasquez Heilig, J. (2008). Avoidable losses: High-stakes accountability and the dropout crisis. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 16(3), 1-48.
Mishel, L. & Roy, J. (2007). Where our high school dropout crisis really is. Education Digest: Essential Reading Condensed for Quick Review, 72(6), 12-21.
Orfield, G., Losen, D., Wald, J., & Swanson, C. (2004). Losing our future: How minority youth are being left behind by the graduation rate crisis. The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/410936_LosingOurFuture.pdf
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). The state of education 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from http://nces.ed.gov/FastFacts/display.asp?id=16