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Running head: THE RATE OF HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS IN THE US

The Rate of High School Dropouts in the US
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Table of Contents
The rate of high school dropouts in the US ........................................................................ 3
Background ......................................................................................................................... 3
Problem statement ............................................................................................................... 6
Purpose of the study ............................................................................................................ 8
Research questions .............................................................................................................. 8
Research Methods and Design .......................................................................................... 10
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 13
References ......................................................................................................................... 14
Appendix ........................................................................................................................... 16

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The rate of high school dropouts in the US
High school dropout is an issue that has been affecting the United States following the
failure of an increasing number of high school students failing to complete their studies. The
approximated number of high school dropouts per year are estimated by researchers to be
somewhere at 1.2 million (Usman, 2015). Such a figure is very high for a first world country like
the United States, which this research is founded at exploring why the statistics on the high school
dropouts are such shocking. Primarily, ethnicity and race are recognized to be the key factors that
influence the rates of high school dropouts where the rate is highest among the African Americans,
followed by the Latin Americans. These races are usually affected most by poverty, lacking
equality in the education system, gang activity, failing grades and pregnancies are all among the
common factors that are attributed towards the high rates of high school dropouts among the
African Americans and the Latinos.

Background
The issue of high school dropouts has long-term and short-term effects on the various
aspects of the United States, including its economy. Educated people take part in building the
country and different quarters, but illiteracy may increase the burden to the government, requiring
more resources to be used on these individuals. Research indicates that nonwhite people in the US
have a higher probability of failing to complete their high school studies than their white
counterparts. Indeed, Shollenberger (2015) notes that 56 percent of the African American
population drops out of high school while their Hispanic counterparts drop out at a rate of 54
percent. However, there is no single reason that motivates such a high percentage of dropouts as
they may vary widely across individuals, families, and ethnic or race. Struyk (2017) reported that

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the chances of the African Americans living with poverty are increased by the fact that more than
a half of them believe that they are unlikely to get a job for which they qualified, which is why
they may drop out of school.

However, research by the Bureau of Statistics indicates that the high school graduates earn
more with over $9 000 compared to those who drop out of school (Breslow, 2012). Additionally,
the high school dropouts have a higher rate of unemployment annually as opposed to their graduate
counterparts. These exciting statistics makes one want to understand why the dropouts want to
expose themselves to such glaring differences that may ruin their lives. Most of the decisions that
result from the high rates of the high school dropouts arise from the high levels of poverty among
the groups in question. Poverty may lead to other factors pregnancy, drug use, academic failings,
and gang activities, all which may in return cause the dropout among the high schoolers.

Schools have been making efforts to save the learners against the high rates of dropouts for
the sake of their future. Among the strategies that most schools across the United States have
adopted include training of the teachers to identify the students who are at risk. The history of
individual students is also used to inform the level of risks that each student is likely to face through
the assessment of the living conditions of the learners as well a...