Report Finds Alarming High School Drop Out Rate

According to a report released this week by the National Women’s Law Center, an alarmingly high number of young women are dropping out of high school. These young women face higher economic costs than their male counterparts.

"The high school dropout crisis has received significant recent attention but almost exclusively as a problem for boys. It is generally overlooked that girls are also failing to graduate at alarmingly high rates," said Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center in a press release. "The dropout rate for girls results in severe economic consequences for them, their families and society as a whole."

The report, When Girls Don’t Graduate, We All Fail: A Call to Improve High School Graduation Rates for Girls, finds that about half of the estimated dropouts from the Class of 2007 were female students. Overall, an estimated one in four female students will not graduate with a regular high school diploma in the standard, four-year time period.

The report also includes recommendations for reducing young women’s high school drop out rates, including improving data collection; increasing school accountability for dropouts; providing additional support for pregnant and parenting students; ensuring girls have equal access to Career and Technical Education training for high-skill, high-wage jobs and after-school programs; and ensuring the required Title IX coordinators, anti discrimination policies and grievance procedures are in place to help students concerned about sex discrimination.

Additional information on these important topics such as the impact of gender equity on employment, sexual harassment, gender equity in diverse populations, etc is available in the Handbook for Achieving Gender Equity through Education, 2nd Edition and in the Fall 2007 Ms.magazine.

Media Resources: National Women’s Law Center 10/30/07; Feminist Majority Foundation

© Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms. magazine

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