The drop out rate is outrageous! In the year 2003-04 only about 50% of students graduated based on the statistics of the federal Department of Education in the past year. The report says “Detroit…graduates less than 25 percent (24.9 percent) of its public high school students.” (Grey, 2008) I have noticed it more at Potterville, since my junior year to my senior year ten people have dropped out in a class of about seventy kids.

One of the biggest reasons so many kids are dropping out is because of Alternative Education. Kids have different reasons for going to Alternative Ed. “When 500 dropouts, ages 16-25, were interviewed, they gave many reasons for leaving school: 47% said classes were not interesting, 43% missed too many days to catch up, 45% entered high school poorly prepared by their earlier schooling, 69% said they were not motivated to work hard, 35% said they were failing, 32% said they left to get a job, 25% left to become parents, 22% left to take care of a relative” (Pytel, 2006). How many of these are real reasons? Most of these reasons are things tons of high school students deal with every day and still manage to graduate.

Lots of schools are working on their own solutions to the problem of so many kids dropping out. The many solutions include tutoring, after school opportunities, career and technical schooling, and many others. While schools are trying to work on this solution I think they should make the Alternative Education classes harder and should make getting in based on personal need instead of accepting anybody. Instead of letting someone into Alternative Education just because they couldn’t go to class because they didn’t feel like it, interview them and accept kids that couldn’t go to class because they had to work or take care of a family member. Also they should make the classes teach more stuff that can be related to life rather than the same classes in high school except for easier.

Drop out rates are outrageously high and should be taken care of however possible. But many schools are just making it easier to drop out rather than make their kids stay in school and get a real education. Alternative Education should be dealt with as a selective process rather than just letting anybody in.











 

Citations

15 Effective Strategies for Dropout Prevention. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from Schargel Consulting Group Web site: http://www.schargel.com/2007/12/17/15-effective-strategies-for-dropout-prevention/

Grey, B (2008 April 3). High school drop-out rate in major US cities at nearly 50 percent. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from World Socialist Web Site Web site: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/scho-a03.shtml

Pytel, B (2006). Dropouts Give Reasons. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from Suite101 Web site: http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/dropouts_give_reasons