PhDs, and Plumbers Too

It’s good to see the problem of school dropouts entering the political debate. Dropouts, unlike soccer moms and NASCAR dads, don’t wield much political clout, so John Kerry deserves credit for his campaign pledge to reduce the nation’s dropout rate. The platform he unveiled last week includes a promise to increase funding for tutoring, teacher training and the creation of small high schools where struggling students won’t fall through the cracks. Those are good ideas, but not enough. Any solution ought to include an expansion of vocational education -- which has all but disappeared -- because not every student is headed for college, and a carpenter these days has a more confident future than a computer programmer.

For years, the rising dropout rate has been obscured by statistical sleight of hand that keeps official tallies artificially low. New research reveals the scope of what Kerry rightly calls a national tragedy: Three of every 10 high school students drop out before graduation. Among blacks and Latinos, the figure is 50%. The most vulnerable are poor kids attending large big-city schools, where they see no connection between the lessons taught in class and the opportunities -- or lack thereof -- in society.

The focus on tougher academic standards has shrunk alternatives as cash-strapped districts do away with “nonessential” classes -- from art to auto shop -- that kept unconventional students engaged. Faced early on with standardized tests, marginal students grow accustomed to failure. The ranks of middle school dropouts are expanding; the number of high-schoolers who quit and test for a general equivalency diploma has doubled in the last 10 years, and independent studies programs aimed at discouraged students are bursting at the seams.

The societal costs of dropping out are well documented -- increased criminality, higher welfare rolls, a bigger burden on tax-funded social services. Efforts to combat the problem have been desperately creative but woefully inadequate. Chicago school officials now require prospective dropouts to sign a statement acknowledging future consequences, such as “I will not be able to afford many things that I will see others acquiring.” Some states are considering denying driver’s licenses to teenage dropouts. But broad-based intervention has had mixed results. A study of federal dropout prevention programs detected little effect and concluded that school-based personal attention from adults may be the best antidote.

Kids need someone to help link their talents to the possibilities that education provides. A renaissance of vocational ed should represent not a step back but a step toward a respectable future. Good vocational programs that combine training in marketable skills with challenging academic courses can reduce the dropout rate among high-risk kids and inspire many to go on to college. It’s an alternative that campaigning politicians would be wise to consider. After all, a plumber is more likely to vote than a prisoner.