Lawmakers want more to keep dropout rate on the decline

Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers said Tuesday they are pleased to see the state's dropout rate decline but that more still needs to be done to keep students in school.

The state Board of Education reported earlier this month that about 1,100 fewer high school students withdrew from school during the 2007-08 school year – just under 5 percent, compared with 5.2 percent the previous year.

It was the first decline in three years.

But House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said Tuesday that, on average, 30 percent of high school students still drop out. Lawmakers need to make sure they are listening to educators about what they need to help students stay in school, he said.

Rep. Earline Parmon, D-Forsyth, also said there is a need to implement recovery programs for students who drop out.

Education officials point to former Gov. Mike Easley's Learn and Earn and early-college programs for the decline. The programs allow high school students to get an associate degree or college credit while obtaining their high school diploma.

Alternative learning options for suspended students and assistance for those not performing well also have helped, along with a state law that revokes students' driver's licenses if they drop out before turning 18, the board of education said.

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Latest Comments

Simple solution. Shut down the public system. Send the money with the Students.

whatelseisnew
February 17, 2009 7:54 p.m.

this is why we are falling further behind the rest of the world in science and math . . .

you want to keep kids in school, make their parents stay together, make them value education, make them understand the value of hard work and determination...

good luck

uncw40oz
February 17, 2009 4:57 p.m.

Throw more money at it. That's what you politicians normally do, albeit with the same negative results. Wish we had a high dropout rate for our politicians.

spentrounds-full auto
February 17, 2009 3:25 p.m.

Keep dumbing it down. My kids study in 9th grade what I did in 8th grade.

aspenstreet1717
February 17, 2009 2:19 p.m.

I've long thought that keeping everyone in school is a tragic, expensive mistake. I've personally seen too much of the school's time and effort completely wasted at containing troublemakers who had no desire to be there. It's foolish to think that we can somehow confer an education on someone who has no ability or desire for it.

Education should be a privilege, that must be actively earned. Maybe then we could have confidence that a high school diploma actually means something.

htomc42
February 17, 2009 2:10 p.m.