By J.D. LaRock
May 26, 2003

Calling the state of the nation's high schools "the biggest dilemma facing American education," two groups — the Alliance for Excellent Education (the Alliance) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) — are urging the President and Congress to vastly increase federal support for secondary education. At an April 29 news conference in Washington (DC), the Alliance issued a new report, Left Out and Left Behind, which details how federal resources are allocated toward American high schools. The report argues that such support is so scant; many high schools will have great difficulty meeting the provisions of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires high schools — as well as elementary and middle schools — to meet a number of tough new standards. Among them:

• School districts may no longer count students who obtain GED's in calculating their high school graduation rates;
• All newly-hired high school teachers must hold at least a bachelor's degree and demonstrate a high level of competency in the subject they teach, as evidenced by an academic major or graduate degree in that subject;
• By the 2005-06 school year, states must give annual reading/language arts and mathematics examinations to at least one grade between grades 10 and 12;
• By the 2007-2008 school year, states must give annual science tests to at least one grade between grades 10 and 12, and;
• All high schools must make "adequate yearly progress" toward state standards, or ultimately face sanctions, including reorganization of the school.

However, these benchmarks will be hard for many high schools to reach, says the Alliance, given current achievement levels in many areas. According to its report:

• More than 30 percent of students in grades 6-12 in California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama are currently at risk of dropping out of high school;
• Seven cities — Chicago, Columbus, Oakland, Milwaukee, Memphis, Cleveland, and Indianapolis — have high school graduation rates below 50 percent;
• Five states — South Carolina, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Florida — have graduation rates below 60 percent, and;
• Across the country, low-achieving high school students are much more likely to be taught by teachers without a major or minor in the subjects they teach.

The Alliance and NASSP assert that the federal government's focus on programs to support elementary schools, as opposed to high schools, has contributed to these problems. For instance, in FY 2003, only 5 percent of the $11.68 billion federal Title I money — which supports schools in low-income areas — went to high schools. In addition, say the two groups, high schools will receive only 9 percent of the $1 billion allocated by the federal government this year for after'school and summer school programs.

"There's no 's' in the ESEA," said NASSP Executive Director Gerald N. Tirozzi, referring to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the formal title of NCLB. "It's really the Elementary School Act."

Emphasizing that most educators support the objectives of NCLB, the NASSP unveiled its "Reciprocal Agreement," a statement from middle-level and high school principals that endorses NCLB's call to promote high standards, improve teaching practices, and hold schools accountable for results, but calls on legislators to provide the resources necessary to achieve those goals. To date, more than 5,000 principals in all 50 states have signed on to the document.

Although neither group called for a specific level of additional funding under NCLB to support high schools, the Alliance's report points out that currently, federal funding for the law is $6 billion short of the amount authorized when it was originally passed.

The issues raised by the Alliance and NASSP have clear implications for cities. Without increased investment in urban high schools, say advocates, it is doubtful that they will be able to increase their graduation rates, decrease dropout rates, and hire more-qualified teachers — leading to a more poorly-trained workforce, fewer students moving on to college, and a reluctance of businesses to locate in metropolitan areas. As Patricia Tucker, principal of Banneker H.S. in Washington, D.C. put it at the news conference, "High schools are where the rubber meets the road. Students will either succeed there, or drop out — and that's why you need resources."

Alarming Facts About American Secondary Schools

• Currently there are 17,349 high schools in the United States
• 807 high schools have been designated "in need of improvement" using the criteria of the No Child Left Behind Act. This is 5 percent of the nation's high schools.
• Approximately one million of the nation's high school students fail to graduate each year.
• Each day, approximately 3,000 students drop out of middle or high school.
• In 2003, nearly 540,000 students will leave the American school system.
• On average, the ten metro school districts with the lowest graduation rates are able to graduate only 44 percent of their students on time
• 69 percent is the nation's high school graduation rate.
• 31 percent of the nation's 8th graders fail to get a high school diploma in five years.
• Approximately 6 million or 25 percent of the nation's 24 million students grades 6 through 12 read below the basic level.
• 714,000 high school seniors (23 percent) have difficulty reading on the eve of their high school graduation.

Source: " Left Out and Left Behind: NCLB and the American High School," Alliance for Excellent Education, April 2003.