Silent Epidemic, (The): Perspectives of High School Dropouts

The central message of this report is that while some students drop out because of significant academic challenges, most dropouts are students who could have, and believe they could have, succeeded in school. This survey of young people who left high school without graduating suggests that, despite career aspirations that require education beyond high school and a majority having grades of a C or better, circumstances in students' lives and an inadequate response to those circumstances from the schools led to dropping out. One argument made is that more opportunities for real-world learning, such as service-learning would have improved students' chances of staying in school. (author)