The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "dropout rates" ...
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Omaha in Black and White
One out of every three high school freshman in Omaha fail to graduate in four years, and the dropout problem is even worse for black youths. Findings include: graduation rates slide sharply as attendance drops; middle school grades track closely with graduation rates; students with poor test scores in elementary school are significantly less likely to graduate; few students who enter high school with both poor attendance and poor grades in 8th grade are successful, only 20% graduate on time
Tags: education; dropout rates; graduation rates; at-risk youth; Omaha Public Schools; longitudinal data;
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Down the Hole
The Chicago Reporter examines the Illinois school system and its funding, dropouts and their effect on the economy and the connection between funding and results. The investigation found that the 2005 range in expenditure per student was $4,000 to $28,000 and poor communities and farms were taxed at higher rates then their wealthier counterparts. School officials asserted that there is a clear connection between funding and quality of student produced, and an analysis by the newspaper bore this out. But a second analysis did not link funding to quality of student.
Tags: Schools; school funding; droput rate; high school dropouts; taxation; tax rates
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Early Exit: Denver's Graduation Gap
This five-day series from the Rocky Mountain News examines the extremely high dropout rates among Denver's public high school students. The series follows the progress of some students in the school system, but also takes a look at the lives of those students who didn't make it to graduation.
Tags: Denver Public High Schools; Denver Board of Education; high school dropout rates
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Hidden Dropouts
Students from high schools are being forced by school authorities to drop out of school and get a GED. This story looks at how false information on the current drop-out rate is revealed by the authorities. This investigation also finds that the dropout rates that are posted publicly for parents and recorded for policy makers are highly understated.
Tags: high schools in New York; New York schools; high schools; high school dropout; high school dropout rates; GED; adult education; parents and schools; Syracuse schools; Fowler High School
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Failing students getting promoted
Despite the high numbers of students who failed statewide reading and math exams, Ohio area schools continue to pass them to higher grades, regardless of if they are ready. This series originally came about after one Cleveland teacher complained of having to promote fourth graders who she did not believe were ready for the fifth grade. Upon their own analysis, the Plain Dealer noticed that, though 99 percent of students were promoted in the last school year, 66 percent of them had failed state examinations. The investigation points out: "that gap was even more pronounced for black and Hispanic students who fail the tests more often than their white peers." The report also looks at the social and educational benefits to promoting or holding these students back.
Tags: No Child Left Behind; state testing; promotion data; dropout rates; Ohio Department of Education; social promotion
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War of Attrition: Ben Schmookler is what nearly every urban school district desperately needs. He's young, he's a dedicated teacher, and he's African American. But how long will he stick around?
Article talks about how Ben Schmookler is trying to turn around a school that's known for its high drop-out rate. Schmookler is African American. The author explains that black teachers are needed in education because there aren't a proportionate amount of minority students and minority teachers.
Tags: schools; drop out; drop-out; Ben Schmookler; African American; truancy; minorities; minority teachers; poor; education
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Degrees of Deceit; An 'A' in Fraud
LA Weekly reports on how an inner-city L.A. high school, Manual Arts, masked its dropout rate by keeping "ghost" students on its enrollment list. The fraud gave the school "a breather from chronic overcrowding" and allowed it to keep its funding. The problem is that the state of California "does not conform to widely accepted standards for counting dropouts honestly and accurately."
Tags: graduation rates; schools; students; ineligible graduates; grade tampering
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The Dropout Dilemma
States, school districts and federal researchers may all use different methods and definitions to tally up how many students have dropped out of high school and the results can vary enormously--which is why high school dropout numbers can be notoriously unreliable.
Tags: dropouts; high school dropout rate; research; methodology
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On Their Own
An investigation by the Sacramento Bee reveals that students in California's Independent Study programs earn credit for "watered-down and highly questionable courses." Deb Kollars found that "such schools have abysmal records when it comes to preparation for college, vocational education and dropout rates."
Tags: schools; independent study; california; classes; high school; students; education; system
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Filling in the blanks
Washington City Paper examines the reasons for the relatively high dropout rate in D.C. The story looks at the difficulties that those who have left school face, when they try to earn adult basic education. A second, "shadow school system," which consists of adult learning centers at churches and community organizations, enrolls thousands of students per year. Few, however, succeed to pass the General Education Diploma (GED) exam. The reporter points to statistics showing that over the last decade the proportion of students graduating from high schools has been decreasing, while the proportion of those who earn their diploma through alternative means has been increasing. The very low high school graduation rate in D.C. affects the need for city services, limits the ability of private businesses to find trainable employees, and cripples the ability of young mothers and fathers to find jobs that pay a decent wage, the newspaper reports.
Tags: schools; poverty; low income; minorities; unemployment; labor; literacy; GED; adult learning; immigrants