Dropout Factories Decline
Posted on March 27th, 2011 by Mary Lord
The number of U.S. schools with such poor graduation rates that they are known as “dropout factories” fell by 6.4 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a report released at the Building a Grad Nation Summit in Washington, D.C., March 22. The report also included recommendations to help ensure a high school graduation rate of 90 percent for the class of 2020–today’s third graders.
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Tags: Education Policy, Outreach for Schools, Public Policy, Research on Learning
In response to cheating, many states and school districts are tightening test security, USA Today reports. Texas distributes 14 steps staff must follow during test administration and warns that state investigators will ferret out cheaters. In other places, educators are experimenting with different ways to test what kids learn. 
Skyline High School in Boulder, Colo., showed Interior Secretary Ken Salazar what a high quality program looks like when he visited the STEM Academy March 21. Students must earn 28 credits for a STEM certificate, instead of the 24.5 needed for a regular high school diploma, and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. Graduates are guaranteed acceptance in the University of Colorado’s engineering program.
With the stakes for educators growing ever higher — and the majority of American schools somewhere on 
As anxious students hover by computer screens or mailboxes for news of college admissions, they face even more disappointment than even the record-breaking class of 2009. Though the number of high school seniors fell in many states last year, they continue to apply to more schools. The average now tops 4.5, with a hefty percentage applying to eight or more colleges. 
In his State of the Union address, President Obama urged Americans to “teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.” Last week, the sports-fan-in-chief made good on that vow by welcoming 40 high school STEM superstars — finalists in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search — to the White House.
Starting in 2014, new teachers in Florida could see their pay and promotions linked to their students’ performance on state assessments. Bills being considered in the legislature also would allow school boards to fire teachers more easily for mediocre results. Similar legislation was vetoed last year by the former governor, who considered it too extreme, but Gov. Rick Scott seems poised to approve this somewhat gentler version.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned last week that 82 percent of the country’s schools soon could be considered failing if the No Child Left Behind law is not changed. The administration is seeking to relax some accountability measures in the law. “The law has created dozens of ways for schools to fail and very few ways to help them succeed,” Duncan said.
A new government study suggests that smart recrafting of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) can help save taxpayers a bundle. Meanwhile, a group of moderate Senate Democrats plans to introduce a series of bills in the next few weeks to jump-start the overhaul.
