Conventional wisdom claims a newly discovered dropout crisis in high schools. Jay Greene, of the Manhattan Institute, and Christopher Swanson, formerly with the Urban Institute, are primarily responsible for this claim, publishing reports showing these extraordinary high dropout rates nationwide, for the states, and for many specific school districts. They also claim graduation rates have been flat for several decades. However, based on the findings in household surveys and in national longitudinal data, Greene and Swanson's claims and estimates of graduation rates turned out to be flawed. In truth, the dropout problem is concentrated in about 20% of high schools. The dropout crisis is primarily a crisis of youth at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale, regardless of race. To address these children's problems, the authors call for comprehensive efforts to improve their schools, including offering alternative programs and developing second-chance systems.