What We Are Reading: CPB Dropout Prevention Initiative, Male Achievement Gap, Postsecondary Remediation Costs, 21st Century High Schools

Looking for new high school-related resources?  Here are some pieces that other organizations have recently released:*

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s "American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen" Initiative The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) launched a significant public media initiative to help improve our nation's high school graduation rates. American Graduate expands on public media's record of success in early childhood education to reach students in middle school - a critical point when the disengagement that leads to dropping out in high school often begins. Local public radio and television stations, located in 20 community "hubs" where the dropout crisis is most acute, will provide their resources and services to raise awareness, coordinate action with community partners, and work directly with students, parents, teachers, mentors, volunteers and leaders to lower the dropout rate in their respective communities. CPB will initially grant $4.4 million to the 20 market hubs, which serve as the core of community interest and activity around high school graduation rates. The

Impact of Economic Change on Male Achievement and Its Implications for the Education of Boys In recent decades specialized efforts to boost girls' achievement have had major success in advancing their academic performance and professional options. Meanwhile, boys have slipped further and further behind, opening a new achievement gap that threatens the futures of millions of young men and affects those in their lives. This report from Thomas Mortenson points out that males are now less likely to be enrolled in high school than are females, are less likely to become high school graduates or complete a GED by the time they are 25 to 29 years old than are females, and male high school graduates are less likely to go on to college immediately after high school graduation than are female high school graduates.

Saving Now and Saving Later: How High School Reform Can Reduce the Nation’s Wasted Remediation Dollars Remedial education-courses designed for postsecondary students on basic skills that they did not master in high school-costs the United States an estimated $5.6 billion, according to a new brief by the Alliance for Excellent Education. This brief finds that about one out of every three students entering postsecondary education will need to take at least one remedial course. The brief points out that while remediation is a problem for all students, students of color are disproportionally affected.

What Should a 21st Century High School Look Like? This New England Secondary School Consortium briefing describes some of the major strategies that are reinventing secondary education in the 21st century. Textbooks, chalkboards, and desks were the hallmarks of 20th century schooling. Today’s best schools are borderless community learning centers.

What Is a Proficiency-Based Diploma? Some students leave high school knowing calculus, while others still struggle with basic math. This New England Secondary School Consortium briefing discusses how we can make sure every student graduates prepared.  

Are you reading any of these reports or articles?  Or do you have other good high school resources to share? Tweet us at @NHSCatAIR and let us know!

* Resource descriptions provided by the sponsoring organization.

Note: This blog post was originally authored under the auspices of the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The National High School Center’s blog, High School Matters, which ran until March 2013, provided an objective perspective on the latest research, issues, and events that affected high school improvement. The CCRS Center plans to continue relevant work originally developed under the National High School Center grant. National High School Center blog posts that pertain to CCRS Center issues are included on this website as a resource to our stakeholders.