The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts [PDF]
Type: Report [PDF]Author/Source:Civic Enterprises & Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, John M. Bridgeland, John J. DiIulio, Jr., Karen Burke Morison, March 2006.
Abstract:
There is a high school dropout epidemic in America. Each year, almost one third of all public high school students – and nearly one half of all blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans – fail to graduate from public high school with their class. Many of these students abandon school with less than two years to complete their high school education. This tragic cycle has not substantially improved during the past few decades when education reform has been high on the public agenda. During this time, the public has been almost entirely unaware of the severity of the dropout problem due to inaccurate data. The consequences remain tragic.