Schoolwide Reform in High School

After concentrating for the past few years on schoolwide reform at the elementary level, reformers from Washington, D.C., to the local superintendent’s office have turned their attention to high schools. They have done so for good reason: High school achievement is low. Dropout rates are high. And many students graduate unprepared for college or a job. This month’s newsletter from The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement highlights key issues in high school reform and the efforts being made to address them.

The Problem

Almost 30 percent of those entering high school never graduate (Greene & Winters, 2005). In many schools, that total is more than 50 percent, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters, whose recent work was funded in part by the Comprehensive School Reform program of the U.S. Department of Education. Balfanz and Legters also found that nearly half of all African-American students and almost 40 percent of all Latino students attend high schools in which most students did not graduate (Balfanz & Legters, 2004).

Even the students who do finish high school are often unprepared for college or a job. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (Parsad & Lewis, 2003), more than 50 percent of high school graduates take at least one college remedial English or math class. Students who enroll in such remedial courses are more likely than other students to drop out of college. Furthermore, most employers rate the basic writing, reading, and math skills of high school graduates as fair or poor, according to a survey conducted by the research group Public Agenda (2002).

While elementary schools have succeeded in narrowing the achievement gap, it has widened in high schools. A 27-state analysis by The Education Trust (2005), a Washington-based organization that advocates for poor and minority children, found that most states saw the reading and math achievement gap grow between Latino and white high school students. The achievement disparity between poor and nonpoor students also grew or stayed the same.

Why Now?

High school reform is in the news.

President George W. Bush recently proposed a number of high school reforms, including an expansion of the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. The president has called for high school students to take annual, state-administered tests in math and reading in Grades 9, 10, and 11. He also proposed that high school seniors be required to take the National Assessment of Educational Progress every other year. “Testing at high school levels will help us become more competitive as the years go by,” Bush said at a press conference on January 12. “Testing in high schools will make sure that our children are employable for the jobs of the 21st century.” Bush is expected to highlight the importance of improving high school achievement in his State of the Union address on February 2.

The National Governors Association and Achieve Inc., a bipartisan organization created by policymakers and corporate leaders to help states raise academic standards, will gather the nation’s governors, top business leaders, and K–12 education leaders on February 26–27 in Washington, D.C., to discuss secondary schools. The summit (information at http://www.achieve.org/) will focus on how to improve student preparedness for college and work, and ways to increase graduation rates.