Many critics of the public schools cite the student dropout rate as an indicator of the failure of public schooling in America. In fact, the longitudinal cohort dropout rate in Texas exceeds 30 percent and this is similar to that found in other states. Some have suggested that one cause of dropout behavior is a moral decline of the country. HISD could have a new general superintendent within the next couple of years. Imagine that you have been assigned to help develop a program to keep students from dropping out of school.
How would you measure the dropout rate? What factors would you consider as causes of dropout behavior? What policies would you put into place to reduce the dropout rate? Would character or moral education be included in your proposal?
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