1. Spotlight on California High School Performance
- Author
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Ed Source, Palo Alto, CA., Frey, Susan, Perry, Mary, Brazil, Noli, Oregon, and Isabel
- Abstract
The typical high school has not changed significantly over the past 50 years. Faculty members are segregated into departments based on their subject, and students rush from one 50-minute class to another throughout the seven-hour day. Reform efforts, however, are growing both nationally and in California. Reformers say that high school students are bored and do not see the relevance of their coursework to their future lives. Advocates for change are suggesting that high schools focus on a new set of three R's--rigor, relevance, and relationships. Policymakers are beginning to listen as they grapple with the need for a well-trained workforce, the cost of high remediation rates for students entering college, and a national dropout rate that hovers around 30%. This report looks at not only how well California high school students are performing, but also at what opportunities the state's students have to take more rigorous coursework. It delves into the graduation/dropout rates and achievement gaps based on socioeconomic, language, and ethnicity factors. Finally it considers issues that may be preventing some high schools from being successful, such as their curricula, teacher preparation, student-to-staff ratios, structure, and funding levels.
- Published
- 2005