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High school Dropout Rates Up; Are Math and Science the Cause?

More rigorous math and science requirements for high school graduation are in place, and simultaneously dropout rates in the country are up. Research back to 1990 showed that the US dropout rate rose to a high of 11.4 percent when students were required to take six math and science courses, compared with 8.6 percent for students who needed less math and science courses in order to graduate. The dropout rate is up to 5 percentage points higher when gender, race and ethnicity are considered. William F. Tate, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School of Arts & …

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Is the U.S. Dropout Rate Really a Crisis?

By Matthew Lynch It seems that the phrase “high school dropout” is often accompanied with the word “crisis.” Depending who you ask, kids everywhere are giving up on education before they obtain a diploma and the situation has never been worse. But is it really that bad? Is the state of the high school dropout rate in the U.S. deserving of the “crisis” label? Let’s start by delving into the statistics and facts of high school dropout rates in the U.S., where the current generation stands historically, what is driving contemporary numbers, who is at the highest risk for dropping …

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