Issues With NCLB Revisions And Reporting Drop Out Rates

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Story Published: May 19, 2008 at 10:05 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2008 at 8:25 PM MST

By Mary Sturgill

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So, should the revisions to the No Child Left Behind Act pass? A national system to track graduation rates or drop out rates would most likely be put into place. Although local districts feel confident that their numbers are true pictures of what the graduation rates are, they do have some concerns. And they do feel our nation needs to have a true picture of the problem before we can begin to fix it.

Educators hope that when students walk through these doors for the last time, that they are heading to graduation to pick up these, their diplomas. But under the Secretary of Education's proposal even if they do pick up a diploma, they may not be counted in the school's graduation rate. So schools to see a problem with the revised law. Dr. Charles Shackett explains, "There are some students we call Super Seniors, that might have had enough credits that graduate their senior year. They enrolled in our alternative school which can educate kids up to 21 years old. Well, they're a drop out I suppose on record. But yet they did get their diploma. So there is another concern, at what age do you say 18 and that's it and if a student gets a diploma at 19 then they're still considered a drop out."

And what about the students who go to another state? This is Nicole. She dropped out in Utah, came to Idaho and will graduate this week. Will she be considered a drop out in Utah? "I don't consider myself a drop out. I just figured I pulled my head out of my butt and I decided to get my education." -Nichole Dineen, Graduates Wednesday, May 21, 2008.

Another concern is the manpower and the funding it will take to get every school in the nation on the same page. "I do see a need for a state wide tracking system so we can identify every student and where they go and Margaret Spellings is probably gonna want it throughout the nation. It's very difficult to accurately determine "drop out." -Dr. Charles Shackett, Bonneville District 93.

But all the school districts I talked to agreed. Rene Miller with Idaho Falls District 91 says, "It's important that we know what the true drop out rate is and when different states or different school districts have the option to report different numbers, it gives an unclear picture and doesn't really show a true need for help for these students because they drop out for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they need some extra help during this critical time period. If you know the true numbers then you can effectively address the problem.

As they're figured now, the drop out rates for Idaho are around 2%.
Boise has the highest drop out rate of 11%. But that is still far better than a lot of schools around the nation. Detroit has a 76% drop out rate , and Indianapolis schools have a rate of 70%. Whether the proposal will change all that, is yet to be seen.

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