In the recent search for reasons of why drop out rates are extremely high, Gov. Rick Perry had a few words.
Falkenberg: Whopper is too big to let pass
By LISA FALKENBERG
The governor, meanwhile, seemed to blame at least part of Texas’ embarrassing dropout statistics on untimely student deaths: “If a child dies, they count that as a dropout. I think that’s a little harsh,” Perry said.
Officials sometimes claim, for instance, that students are transferring to other states, but the fact is that Texas takes in many more students from other states than it loses.
Research done by Achieve, Inc indicated several reasons for students leaving school without having gotten their diplomas. (Reasons not limited to the state of Texas)
- Students who are poor, who are members of minority groups, who are male, who transferred among multiple elementary and middle schools, and who are overage for their grade are more likely to drop out of high school.
- Students who come from single parent families, have a mother who dropped out of high school, have parents who provide low support for learning, or have parents who do not know their friends’ parents well also are placed at greater risk.
- Studies have suggested that teenagers who take on adult responsibilities — becoming a parent, getting married, and holding down a job — are also more likely to leave school without a diploma.
- Students who struggle in the classroom and fall behind academically are more likely to drop out.
- Students who become disengaged from school and develop disciplinary problems are more likely to drop out. High rates of absenteeism or truancy, poor classroom behavior, less participation in extracurricular activities, and bad relationships with teachers and peers all have been linked to lower chances for graduation.
- Early dropouts started out with much lower grades in elementary school.
By far, obvious reasons remain for why students fail to achieve the status of a high school graduate. The next step is finding out what the community can do to help the situation.
