Something's wrong with high schools

There's got to be something wrong with high schools.  That is the only conclusion one can draw when you look at this report published in EdWeek.  Some important points:

• Nationally, third of drop-outs never get past the ninth grade.
• According to EdWeek, the graduation rate in NYC is 38.9%; according to the city it is 53.2%.
• The city considers a GED as graduation.

From the first point, one could draw the conclusion that the transition from middle school/junior high to high school is not a smooth one and, for 1 out of 3 drop-outs, where they got "stuck".  This says a lot about how well middle schools are preparing students for high schools.  This could be for a variety of reasons, but I would guess that it has to do with a huge lack of communication between the two levels.  Middle schools (at least the ones I've seen) look more like elementary schools than high schools.  I'm not saying that's necessarily bad, but we must certainly be aware that there is a disconnect here.  Something's got to change - middle or high school (or, probably, both).

Also, let's keep in mind that "high school" as it is conceived of now was never really meant to graduate 100% of students.  In my parents' day, many students dropped out to work or join the army.  When "high school" was developed, this was a reality.  Our expectations have changed, but what we do has not.  We expect 100% graduation, but maintain a model of secondary schooling that cannot achieve that.

Now, to New York City.  It will be interesting to see how graduation rates shift in a few years after all the new small schools have been able to graduate a few classes.  My feeling is that we will see a rise in graduation rates because these smaller schools are more able to give students individual attention.  In larger schools, students are easily falling through the cracks.  Not so much in smaller schools.  The small school movement has done a lot to change how we see "high school," but I still don't think it is enough.  Making it smaller does make it more personal.  That's a good step.  But, the instructional models have not changed.  Classes are still largely compartmentalized and students don't see connections between subject matters.  So, they go between classes not seeing how all this learning adds up to changing how they view the world.  Teenagers have lots of questions about themselves and the world, but we aren't answering them in the high school.  This is the next step we need to take.  Move away from departments and more into full-on, no-holds-barred interdisciplinary work.  But, who's willing to take this next step?

Links:
The EdWeek Report
NY Times article on EdWeek Report

Comments

[Nancy]

How do you become a drop-out in 3rd grade if education is compulsory until the age of 16, or whatever the age is? I'm having a real hard time imagining a 10 or 11 year old dropping out of school. 3rd grade is nowhere near middle school...I'm a little confused by this statistic.

[Tim Fredrick]

That's because it should be ninth grade ... I've corrected my error. Oops ...

[Dana Huff]

Ah, 9th grade. The great American bottleneck. We spend years telling kids when they're in high school, they will be held responsible for their learning, but they don't believe it because, as a whole, we don't do it until then. I remember trying to prepare my 8th graders (when I had them) for the rigors I knew they would face in high school. I got called on the carpet because "my standards were too high." My standards involved doing your work and getting zeroes when you didn't. It was my hope that at least the 100 or so kids on my team might be better prepared for 9th grade. I don't know how well it worked out for them, as I only stayed at the middle school another year before moving on. But I vividly remember teaching 9th graders in the vocational classes at the public high school where I used to work. It was frustrating to see students who were already repeating fail yet again.