High school graduation has long been recognized as an important turning point to young adulthood, opening up the doors for future vocational and economic activities. In Washington State, students with disabilities still drop out at rates that are significantly higher than their peers, hampering their ability to achieve this graduation milestone.…

Students who drop out of high school are at increased risk of a range of negative social and economic consequences, including lower earnings and poorer health. To reduce dropout rates and lessen these negative consequences, districts around the country are using early warning indicators to identify and provide supports for students at risk of…

Graduation and dropout rates are important indicators of K-12 education in Washington State. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) prepares an annual report that provides a review of graduation and dropout statistics for schools and districts in Washington. This report includes information for all students as well as the…

Poor academic outcomes and high dropout rates are major concerns of educators, policy makers, and parents alike--and poor health severely limits a child's motivation and ability to learn. Recent research confirms that "health disparities affect educational achievement". Improving students' health is integral to education reform.…

This paper examines the graduation/dropout crisis among American Indian and Alaska Native students using data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Data from 2005 is drawn from the seven states with the highest percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students as well as five states in the Pacific and Northwestern regions of…

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation's public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. Since almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, having a high school diploma and the…

The consequences of not graduating from high school are increasingly serious for both individuals and society as a whole. As a result, state and federal accountability systems now require reporting of more detailed graduation and dropout data. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires states to report disaggregated…

Liberty High School's experimental project using correspondence courses to expand curriculum offerings, begun in 1977, increased vocational offerings from 12 to nearly 2,000 by 1979 and provided career exploration opportunities for its 187 students. All students and incoming freshmen for 1977-78 had an opportunity to select at least one…

The consequences of not graduating from high school are increasingly serious for both individuals and society as a whole. As a result, policymakers and the federal requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have placed a new focus on increasing graduation rates and reducing dropout rates. While the dropout problem has generated research and new…