Clayton Chang
Period A
3/19/12
Current Event Posting #3
Article: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/us/dropout-factory-report/index.html?hpt=us_c2
Topic: Education
Title of Article: Number of 'dropout factory' high schools in the U.S. drops, report says
Author: Sally Holland
Publication Name: CNN
Date of Publication: March 19, 2012, Monday
Length of Article: 454 words, 1 page
A. Main Ideas
U.S leaders and organizations are working on decreasing the high school drop-out rate, and increasing the high school graduation rate. Dropout Factories is a term that refers to a school that graduates 60% or less of the freshmen that enrolled 4 years earlier. Between 2009 and 2010, the number of dropout factories in the U.S dropped from 1,634 to 1,550. It is estimated that about one out of every four students does not graduate high school, and the Grad Nation campaign hopes to achieve a 90% graduation rate by the year 2020. The states that could make or break this goal are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Virginia and Washington. It is recommended that the middle schools that feed into these Dropout Factories be improved, so that students have the basic skills needed to graduate and succeed in high school.
Graduation rates in U.S high schools is being given attention by the government and other outside programs. Leaders are looking for an improvement in the U.S education system, and goals have been set to increase the percentage of high school graduates.
In my opinion, the education system should be a top priority for the U.S government. Good schools can lead to intelligent and able future generations. I believe that the government should do more than provide schools with money and supplies; teachers in unsuccessful schools can be trained and students and faculty members can be taught how to use their resources.
The high school dropout rate has become a major issue for many public high schools around the country. It would take much effort from the schools to achieve the goal of a 90% graduation rate throughout the U.S. especially with the strict graduation requirements that many schools insist upon. Improving the middle school experience to succeed in high school could be a great step to making students feel more at ease. The attention that this issue is being given is an important part of the process but can be difficult when trying to implement new strategies specifically in public schools. I believe that there are many schools that need improvement to reach the levels of the states listed above; which can be achieved with great efforts not just from the government but the schools specifically.
ReplyDelete