School Failure

School failure is an important worldwide issue, leading to underemployment (unemployment or job dissatisfaction) and a lower quality of life. The overall dropout rate in the United States is 10–25%, depending on how it is reckoned. But it is common for the most struggling high schools to lose 25–50% of their students between 9th and 12th grade, and on any given day, 10–20% of the student body will be absent from school. Overkall, rates of drop-out and truancy have remained steady for a decade but have increased in some areas, especially in low-income families and among other subpopulations. Drop-out and truancy are the topics covered in this chapter. Many methods of keeping adolescents in regular attendance at school are widely reported but not thoroughly evaluated.