Almost one-third of all American public high school students, and one-half of African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, fail to graduate from high school with their class. In recent years, more states have been passing or introducing legislation to raise the compulsory school age. Today's globally competitive economy requires at least a high school diploma and often additional education and training to provide the knowledge and skills needed for the 21st century. Research also supports the view that increasing the compulsory school age can help decrease the dropout rate in schools. This report has been published to provide to state and local leaders more information about the merits of raising the compulsory school age, including the latest research, compelling arguments, and examples of how other states are making progress, in order to strengthen the tools states and communities have to combat the dropout problem. Five appendixes are included: (1) "The Dropout Challenge" (David Broder); (2) Compulsory School Attendance Laws by State; (3) Current Legislation; (4) Indiana Legislation; and (5) New Hampshire Legislation. (Contains 14 endnotes, 2 figures, and 2 tables.) [Additional support was provided by the Case Foundation and the MCJ Foundation.]