Dropout out of school (Problems and Prevention)

Teens drop out of school for many reasons, and the decision to drop out is rarely spur of the moment. Kids usually drop out of school following a long process of disengagement and academic struggle. Many teens say they were bored and frustrated with classes that didn't seem relevant to their life. Or they felt they had fallen so far behind they eventually gave up hope.

Teens report that no one really cared about their school experience, or they felt subtly "pushed out" by school staff who perceived them as difficult or dangerous. What is absolutely predictable is that many kids who don't finish high school do poorly in life. Without a high school diploma they will have a harder time finding a job, and they will earn much less when they do find one (about a million dollars less over a lifetime).

They are more likely to have poor health, to live in poverty, and to have children at an early age, who in turn are also more likely to drop out of school.

High school and college students often drop out because they struggle academically and don't think they'll have the GPA or credits necessary to graduate. Some high school students don't want to risk failing, which could mean summer school or another year of high school. College students' academic problems often lead to a loss of scholarships or grants and may result in having to repeat classes to earn needed credits.

There are a lot of reasons for drop out of school. I will mentioned only two most important of them:

Lack of Parental Support

The lack of parental involvement is a problem that often leads to higher dropout rates, especially with high school students. Parents play an important role when it comes to high school attendance. High school dropouts often have parents who weren't engaged or concerned with their academic success.
Money

Some high school students and college students drop out because they want to work to earn money. They may need money to finance a car, pay for auto insurance, buy clothes or electronics, pay for housing or support unhealthy addictions. Most high school and college students don't have the time and energy to go to school all day, complete homework assignments and still work enough hours to support lofty expenses.

Some people quit school just because they would rather go ahead and start working. The students that I knew who dropped out in high school all seemed to have this common reason. They had no interest in going to college. They knew they would eventually wind up working the same job whether they finished high school or not.

Dropouts Cost Everyone Something!

Dropouts comprise nearly half of the heads of households on welfare and an even higher percentage of the prison population. The average annual cost of maintaining a prisoner is at least three times higher than the annual dollars expended to educate a school-age child. This cost does not take into consideration the costs of adjudicating the crimes that sent these dropouts to prison and the monetary and personal costs of the crimes themselves.

The personal costs of dropping out include earning only half as much annual income as a high school graduate by the time prime working age is reached, while the likelihood of living in poverty is nearly three times higher for high school dropouts than for those who finished high school.

Prevention strategies

Schools can collect data about student performance and characteristics related to dropping out in order to identify potential problems early in the student's school experience and thus refer students for specific prevention efforts. Tracking student attendance, test scores, grades, behavior referrals, participation in activities, school attitudes and family participation in school events can provide information to identify students most at risk for later dropping out.

Prevention activities might include incentives and supports to improve attendance; programs to encourage parent involvement; early intervention for academic difficulties (such as peer tutoring programs); community and school-based mentorships; and partnerships with community business to connect school to work.

By Nikolina Kunić