The Impact of Caring Adults in Schools

Key Statistics on Youth and Schools

• Students who have difficulty learning to read will have a greater chance of school failure and behavior problems such as aggression.
• In 2005, 64% of 4th graders and 73% of 8th graders read at the basic level or higher. Conversely, however, 36% of 4th grade and 27% of 8th grade students’ reading skills were below the basic level.
• More than 40% of students who dropped out of high school during the 2000 – 2001 school year were between the ages of 15 and 17 years. Students whose families are poor, live in rural areas or areas of urban poverty, and students who are Hispanic, American Indian or African American all have significantly higher dropout rates. The percentage of 16 to 24 year-olds who are high school dropouts decreased from 15% in 1972 to 11% in 2002, and the high school completion rate among 18 to 24 year-olds has remained stable at 87%.
• In 2003, 7% of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school over the past year. Almost 13% of students reported being in a physical fight, and about 9% of students were threatened or injured by a weapon on school property during the past year. More than 5% of students in grades 9 to 12 had not gone to school on at least one day in the last year because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to and from school.