America’s High School Graduation Rate Crisis Calls for Immediate Solutions

Nearly half of high school students in big-city school systems don’t graduate from high school, a new report from the America’s Promise Alliance revealed today. In response, the national nonprofit Alliance for School Choice said that policymakers from the local to the national levels must consider all options for ensuring that America’s next generation is fully prepared to enter an increasingly global workforce.

Dropouts from the 2007 school year will cost the nation more than $300 billion in lost wages, taxes, and productivity, according to another report, which was recently issued by the Alliance for Excellent Education.

“In the 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 the Cities in Crisis report by the America’s Promise Alliance, 17 of America’s 50 largest cities post graduation rates of less than 50 percent. Some, like Detroit and Indianapolis, graduate only three out of every 10 high school students.

“[T]he challenges we face may be more grave than many have suspected or that some are still willing to acknowledge,” the report says. “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.”

Accordingly, the Alliance for School Choice today renewed its call for federal and state legislators to pursue options such as school voucher programs, scholarship tax credit programs, and scholarships for students with special needs. These options can provide an immediate path to a better education for millions of students currently trapped in schools that do not work for them.

“The entrenched education bureaucracy has tried their hardest - and spent millions - to spread falsehoods about school choice, but we have reached the time when these arguments have become nothing more than excuses,” said Hokanson. “We must move beyond the rhetoric of the past 50 years and embrace the options that have proven successful in nine states and the District of Columbia. Parents, especially low-income parents, need enhanced choices right now. It will cost us far too much–both economically and socially–if we fail to act.”
Source: Alliance for School Choice

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