Summit Drills In on America’s Dropout Rate - Higher Education: ...According to the Powell Report, which was released early during the summit, the national high school graduation rate is currently 78.2 percent and one of every five students do not graduate high school with their compatriots. In addition, 25 percent of African-American students and 20 percent of Latinos still attend high schools where graduating is not the norm. Among students who do make it to college 20 percent require remedial courses and significant numbers end up not earning a college degree. Meanwhile, it’s clear that well over half of the new jobs that will become available in the next decade will require some postsecondary education.
“National leaders in the past have set up goals and not met them,” said John Bridgeland, CEO and president of Civic Enterprises. “And three successive presidents after the Nation at Risk report was published challenged the nation to reach the 90 percent goal.”
“This is like being in the Super Bowl, being up by two touchdowns and the lights go out,” he added.
Yet, in the midst of these sobering statistics was good news.
