Dropout Blues

Statistics show that one student drops out of high school every 9 seconds, according to the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, but they also show that a majority of Americans are willing to help to solve this crisis. Recently, the Pew Partnership invited several speakers to participate in a forum held at the National Press Club. Each speaker has a particular stake in curbing the dropout rates ranging from employing more skilled workers to continuing to compete on an economic level with China.

Hank Cox, vice president for media affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), contends that a top concern for American manufacturers is “a growing inability to find qualified workers.” Cox notices a distinct correlation between high school dropout rates and the lack of skilled workers, “The young people coming out of our high schools today are simply not qualified to work in modern manufacturing.” In fact, 80 percent of NAM members complain “that they have a problem finding qualified workers.” Today, individuals coming out of high school lack the skills needed to work in manufacturing sectors, which has created a massive skills gap. Cox argues that not everyone needs a “degree in literature and poetry,” but there is an academic bias against providing students the skills needed to work in manufacturing jobs. The National Association of Manufacturers is attempting to curtail the bias by working with schools to highlight the skills needed to establish a career in manufacturing.

Alex Harris, senior policy analyst in the Education Division of the National Governor’s Association (NGA), argues that dropout rates are a huge priority for governors. In fact, the NGA has given large amounts of time to researching the subject and results show that “student dropout is largely predictable,” and also, “It’s a few schools that are causing most of the problem. In fact, only 20 percent of the nation’s high schools are responsible for the majority of student dropout.” The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that student dropout is caused by a lack of connection with adults, boredom, and the desire for employment. Harris lauds Georgia and Virginia as two states that have established initiatives to address these reasons. “Sonny Perdue and Tim Kaine [ensured] that each and every high school in the state has a full-time graduation specialist; somebody to work with the students and teachers to make sure that every student has a plan to graduate on time.” This resulted in three straight years of increased graduation rates, they claim. The NGA is working to provide more money to states in order to address dropout rates, and has recently launched Innovation America, which will work to focus on improved math and science education.

Margaret Simms, CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center, both work to solve dropout rates for the advancement of minorities. Simms suggests that dropout rates are a societal problem, and coalitions and partnerships must be established to find solutions. The Center of Political and Economic Studies created a Youth Commission to “infuse the voices of young people…to talk about the things that motivate them.” Simms believes it is necessary to focus on intervention points because “the day a student drops out is not the day the problem arises.” She holds that eighth grade is a critical point to begin. Suro is less optimistic than Simms, as Hispanic dropout rates have not declined as fast as white and black rates. “About 40 percent of Latino high school students are enrolled in high schools that have graduation rates less than 60 percent.” Among the other reasons for poor graduation rates in the Hispanic community is a culture that believes rapid employment is more important than education. Simms and Suro recognize that it is important to change the culture, and therefore must involve the community to achieve their goals.

Deborah Wince-Smith, president of the Council on Competitiveness, argues that “Educational attainment is directly correlated to wages at all levels of our quartile in this country.” Therefore, the lower the education attainment an individual has, the lower that person’s wages will be. This bothers Wince-Smith, “In a nutshell, we cannot compete on low wages.” Indeed, America must compete on innovation, and if the country is forced to compete on cheap labor “we will not maintain our standard of living and we will not maintain our security.” However, Wince-Smith believes the skills needed to compete on innovation are lacking due to high dropout rates. She believes that solutions to dropout rates could lie in investing in video-gaming because that is how children learn today.

Many of the speakers, and the organizations that they represent, have already begun to work together to increase graduation rates. For example, the Council on Competitiveness is working with the National Governor’s Association to launch Innovation America. It’s clear that educational attainment affects many different areas that have no direct relationship. Dropout rates negatively affect the amount of skilled workers needed for manufacturing positions, but also affect the leadership in minority communities. Therefore, this problem is unique; people with completely different goals can work together to solve a problem that could spiral out-of-control if left alone.

Matthew Hickman is an intern at Accuracy in Media.