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CHAPTER 1
Issues Facing Educators
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter you will be able to:
1. Identify and assess the gaps in student achievement
2. Evaluate the dropout crisis and its impact on society
3. Conduct a needs assessment of your school
4. Analyze your school's report card
INTRODUCTION
It is critical to explore some of the factors leading to the high dropout rates among our nation's youth, including gaps in services and infrastructure in schools, inadequate counseling and lack of sustained and continuous interaction between the various educational sectors. The book explores partnership building and how schools can benefit from collaborative programs. The reader will be asked to participate in reflective exercises addressing the high school dropout problem, and begin to develop a portfolio of activities that can be used by educators seeking to work with the community. Also, the twenty-first-century school leader is required to work with the community in addressing the needs of students, their parents, and teachers. School leaders may find this book helpful as it provides strategies for building and sustaining collaborative programs.
Educational Leadership Constituent Council Standards (ELCC)
This chapter meets the needs of advanced academic programs in preparation for educational leadership:
Standard 6.0: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.
(National Policy Board for Education Administration, 2002)
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The United States faces severe challenges in preparing high school students for college, work, and citizenship. An estimated 1.23 million students, or almost 30 percent of the class of 2008, did not graduate with their peers (Education Week, 2011). Only 53 percent enter college directly from high school (Barton, 2005) and of those, only 35 percent earn a college degree (Adelman, 2006). Coupled with this daunting picture is the realization that the value of a high school diploma has changed greatly over the last five decades. In the mid-twentieth century the diploma was an advantage in the workplace while in the 1970s, it was an entrée to various promising careers. With advances in technology, the labor force has to be highly skilled making a high school diploma a minimum requirement for entry into the labor market. Sadly, large numbers of minority youth, particularly blacks and Hispanics, are excluded from productive employment. This is catastrophic to society. This “minority-majority” population is growing at a rapid rate and is ever present in our schools. It is in the interest of society that the minority population receives the type of education that will allow them to succeed economically.
THE DROPOUT CRISIS
REFLECTIVE EXERCISE 1.1
A Collaborative Approach to Studying the Dropout Problem
The persistent dropout problem usually referred to as a “high school problem” extends to other educational sectors and wider society. Schools, on their own, cannot keep at-risk students in school or equip them for success in work or postsecondary education.
Write a response to the above statement.
Since high school completion has become a requirement for entry into postsecondary education, the labor force or training, the economic consequences of leaving high school without a diploma are severe (Kaufman & Alt, 2001). Dropping out poses a serious problem to the social and economic health of the country and has negative consequences for the individual dropout. One consequence of dropping out is limited employment opportunities, as today's economy requires the labor force to have increased literacy, more education, enhanced technological skills, and lifelong learning. Income differences between dropouts and other citizens can be expected to widen as the economy evolves. Dropouts earn on average $10,000 less a year than high school graduates. Each class of high school dropouts damages the economy. The social costs of the dropout problem include an under skilled labor force, lower productivity, lost taxes, and increased public assistance and crime.
The rude awakening is that many high school students lack basic reading and writing skills. This is coupled with the fact that many immigrant students, who speak English as a second language, are dropping out of high school at alarming rates. Another critical issue in the dropout problem today is the rate at which ninth graders in public high school reach regular high school graduate status. Perhaps we can blame the standards movement in K–12 education for causing an acceleration of declining high school graduation rates. The attempt to make the high school curriculum more rigorous has resulted in a growing share of high school students lost before graduation through attrition. More striking is that the proportion of students with high risk behaviors are likely candidates for dropping out and are growing in large numbers signaling increasing dropout rates in the future. Youth from non-English speaking backgrounds are one and a half times more likely to leave high school than those from English-speaking backgrounds (Cardenas et al., 1992). Hispanic dropout rates have increased dramatically. According to the Census Bureau, in 1992 roughly 50 percent of Hispanics ages 16 to 24 dropped out of high school, up from 30 percent in 1990 (Government Accounting Office, 1994). The Final Report of the Hispanic Dropout Project, No More Excuses, further notes that while Hispanics account for just 56 percent of all U.S. immigrants, they account for nearly 90 percent of all immigrant dropouts. The report claims that for Hispanics, as with other students, the likelihood of school completion rises with gains in factors such as family income and parent education. However, gaps remain in school completion rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students after controlling for social class, language proficiency and immigrant status.
These statistics show a greater crisis in the dropout problem as there is a rapid population growth rate of minority populations (Justiz, Wilson, & Bjork, 1994). This growth is a cause of concern since high dropout and low graduation rates in school and college, and illiteracy are particularly significant for Native American, African American, Hispanic, and Asian American populations. Renowned demographer Harold Hodgkinson projected that by 2010 the Hispanic population would outnumber African Americans for the first time (Hodgkinson, 1994). They will, particularly in large cities like Los Angeles, become the “majority-minority” population (Justiz, Wilson, & Bjork, 1994). While the nation is experiencing growth in public school attendance, the question of educational attainment remains critical: one out of five 18 year olds is functionally illiterate. Additionally, school statistics indicate that 43 percent of Hispanic students and 26 percent of African American students drop out of high school, and those that do graduate, are not prepared for higher education (Justiz, Wilson, & Bjork, 1994). In addition, the large differences between the groups remain while public investments in postsecondary education have declined.
It may well be that access to postsecondary education will be curtailed in years to come due to the dual pressures of tight public budgets and of the increasing admission requirements. If so, we could see college-going rates and college-completion rates stabilize or even decrease.
(National Task Force on Minority Achievement, 1999)
However, the dropout problem cannot be viewed in isolation, as issues affecting the total social and economic structure should be considered: poverty, unemployment, discrimination, family roles, social values, the welfare cycle, child abuse, and drug abuse. Also, poor academic performance is the single strongest school-related predictor of dropping out. One possibility for low high school graduation and low college entry rates for many minority students is that they are often exposed to various ineffective and harmful practices in schools (Cotton, 1991). These include academic tracking, retention in grade without accompanying support, excessive use of pullout programs, and indiscriminate assignments to special education programs. The barriers experienced by African American and other minority students in moving across institutional boundaries signal the problems these students experience in order to effectively participate in school and in wider society. When borders are neutral, movement between worlds occurs with relative ease. When they are obstructive or stressful, movement is difficult. Many students learn to navigate these borders without proper intervention. For others, crossing these borders can be inhibitive and degenerative often resulting in low achievement in school and college. For minority children and youths, these barriers, including less access to social capital and institutional support, can instill feelings that may be disruptive to their ability to carry out school-related tasks, e.g. anxiety, fear, and depression. These feelings also make it difficult for minorities to establish supportive relationships with teachers and peers.
REFLECTIVE EXERCISE 1.2
What factors lead to higher dropout rates among Hispanic students than other ethnic groups?
The Hispanic Dropout Report states: “Regardless of your position in society, if you are an Hispanic student, you are more likely to drop out of school and not earn a diploma than if you are a non-Hispanic American in a similar position” (Hispanic Dropout Project, 1998).
GAPS IN SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN SCHOOLS
Perhaps the most important educational challenge for America is eliminating the gap between racial and ethnic groups (Vernes & Krop, 1999). While a college degree seems to be the only gateway to profitable employment, it is our belief that each child should be armed with the necessary tools to complete high school and to enter college academically prepared. However, minorities lag behind their white counterparts in college degree attainment. While we are aware that not everyone may achieve a college education, will it hurt if each child is given the opportunity to be prepared to succeed in school and enter college well prepared? While the issue of retention has usually been viewed as a first-year college student problem, it remains one that embraces the entire education system.
Although much attention is currently being paid to the problem of remediation in the public colleges, greater emphasis needs to be placed on the failure of school students to articulate with the necessary skills needed for h...
