National High School Survey Results

The National Governor's Association, as part of their "Redesiging American High School initiative" recently conducted a survey of over 10,000 American students, ages 16 to 18. Major findings include:

• Less than 1 in 10 say high school has been “very hard.”
• More than one-third say high school has been “easy.”
• 32% “strongly agree” they would work harder if high school offered more demanding and interesting courses.
• 71% think taking courses related to the kinds of jobs they want is the best way to make their senior year more meaningful. (they also mention taking courses that count as college credit)

The survey also collects information from those who dropped out or are considering dropping out of high school.

Survey Conclusions:

• It is critical to communicate to students that they need to seek out and take rigorous courses to be prepared for the future
• Educators and parents must do a better job of encouraging students to find meaning in senior
  year by emphasizing its importance to their futures.
• The message “you too can benefit from a high school education,” if continually reinforced, can work because a majority of teens who dropped out
  or who plan to drop out want to finish high school.

Read the entire summary here (250K PDF)

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 16, 2005 4:34 PM
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