Click here to go back

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          April 6, 2006  Contact: Carmon Cunningham 617.728.4446, 617.335.4839 (cell), ccunningham@jff.org          HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS SHOW SURPRISING PERSISTENCE IN DRIVE TO COMPLETE EDUCATION Nearly 60 Percent of Dropouts Go Back to School and Earn a High School Credential, Says New Report From Jobs For The Future Boston – Contrary to the popular notion that high school dropouts are unmotivated and do not value education, a new report from Jobs for the Future (JFF) finds that most dropouts are remarkably persistent in their drive to complete their education. Nearly 60 percent of dropouts eventually earn a high school credential—in most cases a GED—according to Making Good on a Promise: What Policymakers Can Do to Support the Educational Persistence of Dropouts. In addition, almost half of those that earn secondary credentials later enroll in two- or four-year colleges. Yet for all their effort, less than 10 percent of those dropouts who enroll in postsecondary education earn a degree, a critical factor in securing a good paying job in today’s economy. The full report is available online at www.jff.org. “The educational system is failing these young people twice,” said Marlene B. Seltzer, president and CEO of JFF. “Too often, schools do not keep them engaged in learning the first time around; then  when they try to go back and complete their education the system provides inadequate options.  Anyone who demonstrates such persistence ought to have every opportunity to better themselves and contribute something positive to society. And everyone deserves the quality education promised to them.” Another commonly held belief, that minority students are more likely to drop out than their white peers, is also shown to be false according to data analyzed for the report. Socioeconomic status, not race, is the key indicator for dropping out. Black and Hispanic youth are no more likely to drop out of high school than their white peers of similar family income and education. In fact, black students in the lowest socioeconomic group are actually less likely to drop out than their white and Hispanic peers. About 30 percent of black students in this group drop out compared with 37 percent of Hispanics, and 41 percent of whites. However, dropping out affects black and Hispanic communities more because they are overrepresented in the lowest income groups, while whites are underrepresented. Other findings from Making Good on a Promise show that the dropout problem is far more pervasive than many believe. Nearly 20 percent of all students drop out, and the problem is most severe in central cities and other low-income communities. Close to 40 percent of students in the nation’s lowest socioeconomic group drop out. However, students from middle and upper class households are not immune. About 10 percent of young people from families at the two highest socioeconomic levels also drop out. “The public perception is that there is little anyone can do to help young people who leave school get back on track,” said Adria Steinberg, associate vice president of JFF and one of the authors of the report. “In fact, we could do so much more by building educational pathways that give them a legitimate second chance.” Among the recommendations offered in Making Good on a Promise are refocusing K-12 education accountability systems to emphasize both higher academic standards and higher graduation rates, and redesigning “recovery” programs for dropouts to catch up with student aspirations and the demands of the knowledge-based economy. Several such programs have already demonstrated success in cities like Boston, New York, and Portland OR. Making Good on a Promise was authored by Cheryl Almeida, Cassius Johnson, and Adria Steinberg. It is based on an analysis of data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, which tracked 25,000 students over 12 years beginning in 1988, their eighth-grade year. Jobs for the Future (www.jff.org) is a Boston-based nonprofit that seeks to accelerate the educational and economic advancement of youth and adults struggling in today’s economy. JFF partners with leaders in education, business, government, and communities around the nation to: strengthen opportunities for youth to succeed in postsecondary learning and high-skill careers; increase opportunities for low-income individuals to move into family-supporting careers; and meet the growing economic demand for knowledgeable and skilled workers. ###