Dropout Prevention and Credit Recovery

Educators nationwide are concerned about stemming the tide of high school dropouts. New data suggest the steep economic impact that dropping out of school can have on individuals, and on the economy as a whole. But whether it’s for reasons of economic competitiveness, or simply as a moral imperative, giving students alternative paths to graduation is a top priority for many school leaders —and, fortunately, technology can help.

For example, online courses enable students who are at risk of dropping out, or who have already left the traditional school system, to recover credits and earn their diplomas—and the use of sophisticated data-tracking systems can help schools target intervention for those students who are most in need of assistance, before it’s too late. In addition, technology allows for differentiated instruction that can better engage students in school by tailoring educational programs to meet their unique interests.

With the generous support of PLATO Learning, we’ve assembled this collection of stories from the eSchool News archives—along with some additional resources—to help you harness technology’s potential to meet the important challenge of dropout prevention and credit recovery successfully in your own schools. —The Editors

  • Mississippi proposes self-paced, online curriculum
    Sat, Jul 01, 2006 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum,Multimedia
    Mississippi Superintendent of Education Hank Bounds has unveiled a new $20 million proposal designed to offer seven possible career paths to high school students, as well as online courses that would help prepare them for college and the workforce.

  • Chicago gets $21M to retool schools
    Thu, Apr 20, 2006 Primary Topic Channel: Curriculum,Funding
    In one of the largest grants it has ever made to a single school system, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $21 million to the Chicago Public Schools to establish a more rigorous high school curriculum, boost graduation rates, and better prepare students for college.

  • Webcast: Virtual school helps at-risk students succeed
    Mon, Dec 19, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    Online instruction has helped several at-risk Illinois students finish their high school education and earn their diploma, when it's likely many of these students otherwise would have dropped out of the system, said Sarah Antrim-Cambium, the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) coordinator for participating schools in Cook County.

  • Summit: High school is 'obsolete'
    Fri, Apr 01, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    Implored by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and others to redesign America's high schools to meet the challenges of the new century, governors and policy makers from nearly every state in the nation met Feb. 26 to March 1 to hash out a plan to keep America's high school students from falling behind their counterparts in other industrialized nations, among other goals.

Additional resources

National Dropout Prevention Center
http://www.dropoutprevention.org

Helps youth in at-risk situations to receive the quality education and services necessary to successfully graduate from high school.

School Dropout Prevention Program
http://www.ed.gov/programs/dropout/index.html

The purpose of this U.S. Department of Education program is to support effective, sustainable, and coordinated dropout prevention and reentry programs in high schools with annual dropout rates that exceed their state average annual dropout rate. Middle schools that have students who continue on to these high schools also are supported ...

NEA: Dropout Prevention
http://www.nea.org/dropout/index.html

Too many students are dropping out of school. Turning things around will require all of us working together. Find out what NEA and others are doing, and join the conversation.