User:Eygarcia20/Dropout crisis

{{Multiple issues | unencyclopedic = May 2010 | refimprove = February 2011}}

Definition of Dropout

The U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the federal entity with primary responsibility for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States. In 2003, the 78th Texas Legislature passed legislation requiring that dropout rates be computed according to the NCES dropout definition (Texas Education Code [TEC] §39.051, 2004). Districts began collecting data consistent with the NCES definition in the 2005-06 school year. A dropout is a student who is enrolled in public school in Grades 7-12, does not return to public school the following fall, is not expelled, and does not: graduate, receive a GED, continue school outside the public school system, begin college, or die.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the department is responsible for collecting data as methods of analyzing, reporting, and providing statistics to reflect data in regards to education U.S. Department of Education. In fulfilling congressional mandates by providing statistics, statistics provided by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) National Center or Education Statistics should be used to help schools across the nation on improving in areas of opportunity for growth. Addressing high priority needs, such as dropout crisis is the one of the many roles that the National Center for Education Statistics provides National Center for Education Statistics. Statistics provided by NCES helps to identify trends in any given educational category.

How are Dropouts Recorded and Calculated?

A faction in the ongoing debate about the efficacy of U.S. public education claims that schools underreport the number of students who drop out before finishing high school. Annual dropout rates reported by different organizations may differ because: (a) different grade levels are included in the calculation; (b) dropouts are defined and counted differently; (c) total student counts are taken at different times of the school year; or (d) the data systems employed provide different levels of precision. The annual dropout rate is calculated by dividing the number of students who drop out during a single school year by the cumulative number of students who enrolled during the same year.

Accountability

School districts are now being held accountable to document students within their schools. In Texas, one code in the PEIMS system is recorded for students who graduate from Texas public school. Twelve codes are for "other leavers"—students who: enroll in school outside Texas; enroll in Texas private school; enter home schooling; enter college early to pursue degrees; enroll in university high school diploma programs authorized by the State Board of Education; graduate outside Texas before entering Texas public school, enter a Texas public school, and leave again; complete GEDs outside Texas; are expelled for offenses under Texas Education Code §37.007 from districts located in counties that do not have juvenile justice alternative education programs to which the students can be assigned; are removed by Child Protective Services; are withdrawn by districts because, at the time of enrollment, the students were not residents of the districts; return to their home countries; or die. Students who leave for reasons other than those previously listed have one code (98) and, unless accounted for by TEA processing, are considered dropouts.

No Child Left Behind

Section H of the No Child Left Behind Act provides for the retention of high school students and the prevention of high school drop-outs. Section H, also known as "The School Drop-Out Prevention Act," includes proactive measures that target the reduction of the school drop-out rate, increase re-entry into school programs, and attempts to increase high school graduation rates. Section H also looks at best practices and the dissemination of federal funding for schools, local, and state agencies in designing and implementing programs for drop-out and increase in graduation rates. [1] This section of NCLB is of great importance to school districts nationwide, as graduation rate is a determining factor for a school achieving AYP or Adequate Yearly Progress. Under AYP, a school will fail to meet annual yearly progress if the graduation rate is under 90%.

Changes to AYP

Schools slowly began to meet AYP requirements in areas such as standardized testing. The graduation rate requirement of 90% , however, was very stringent and difficult for some struggling schools to achieve. Therefore, the US Department of Education made changes to the graduation requirements in 2010. The graduation rate calculations changes approved by the US Department of Education, for 2010, included five alternatives for districts and campuses to meet the criteria:

• A statewide 4-year longitudinal Graduation Rate goal of 90.0%
• 4-year Annual Graduation Rate Target of 75%
• 4-year Graduation Rate Alternatives:
• Safe Harbor Target - a 10.0 percent decrease in difference between the prior year 4-year Graduation Rate and the 90.0 percent statewide goal.
  • Improvement Target - a 1.0 percent increase from the prior year 4-year Graduation Rate
• 5-year longitudinal Annual Graduation Rate Target of 80%

See also

• No Child Left Behind Act

External links

• 2005 report by the National Governors Association
• summary of the 2006 book "Rethinking High School Graduation Rates and Trends" by Lawrence Mishel and Joydeep Roy.

[[Category:Public education in the United States]]