U.S. Graduation Rate Continues to Decline According to 2010 study

In an article by Christopher Swanson, he highlights the decline in graduation in the U.S.

Swanson wrote that "Every school day, more than 7,200 students fall through the cracks of America's public high schools. Three out of every 10 members of this year’s graduating class, 1.3 million students in all, will fail to graduate with a diploma. The effects of this graduation crisis fall disproportionately on the nation’s most vulnerable youths and communities. A majority of non-graduates are members of historically disadvantaged minorities and other educationally undeserved groups. They are more likely to attend school in large, urban districts. And they come disproportionately from communities challenged by severe poverty and economic hardship."

These statements emphasize much of what we, as sociology students, have already learned. Minorities and less fortunate students have a smaller chance of graduating or being successful altogether in schools. The text (Coleman and Kerbo, 55) says "the school system itself favors the education of middle- and upper-class students." Poverty also doesn't help these students to gain a better education. The text also states "Lower-class children live in a strikingly different world from that of middle-class children. The homes of the poor tend to have fewer books, newspapers, and magazines, and the parents have less education" (p. 54).

Since we know these things, I think there should be an increase in the focus we put on changing how minorities and poor students are educated. Whether it's through the implementation of after school programs or plainly paying closer attention to them in the classroom, something needs to change. Something has to be done. Swanson emphasized this idea, writing "the current state of high school graduation further underscores that regaining traction will require renewed and sustained commitments from those concerned with the success of the nation’s schools and the essential role of a well-educated population in weaving a strong economic and social fabric."

If we fix our education system, perhaps a lot more things will fall into place.