50% American students fail to graduate

Nearly half of all high school students in America's largest cities fail to graduate from public high schools, a report by the America's &#1...

Nearly half of all high school students in America’s largest cities fail to graduate from public high schools, a report by the America’s ‘Promise Alliance’ revealed on Wednesday.

Students in suburban and rural public high schools are more likely to graduate than their counterparts in urban public high schools, the research said. According to the report “Cities in Crisis” by the non-profit alliance, post graduation rates of 17 of America’s 50 largest cities is less than 50%. In some cities like Detroit and Indianapolis, only three out of every 10 high school students graduate.

“When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it’s more than a problem, it’s a catastrophe,” said former Secretary of State Colin Powell, founding chair of the alliance. “It’s essential that we fix this system and get more kids that are coming out with high school degrees to go into technical schools and community colleges, if America is going to stay in the forefront of this globalising world,” Powell added.

The alliance also urged the policymakers, from the local to the national levels, to consider all options for ensuring that America’s next generation is fully prepared to enter an increasingly global workforce.

In the report released on Wednesday, the Alliance said “The challenges we face may be more grave than many have suspected or that some are still willing to acknowledge. And when it comes to providing every student with a high-quality education, we have not come as far or moved as fast as most of us would like. “Last year, numerous studies and reports have highlighted the fact that America — particularly in our major urban centers — faces a dropout crisis that threatens our business climate, our children’s futures, and our prosperity,” said Charles R. Hokanson Jr., President of the Alliance for School Choice. “It is unjust and unacceptable that so many poor children in America are denied a quality education simply because they are poor.

“According to another report, issued by the Alliance for Excellent Education, dropouts from the 2007 school year will cost the nation more than USD 300 billion in lost wages,

taxes, and productivity.

The research was conducted by Editorial Projects in Education, a non-profit organisation, with support from America’s Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.