High School Dropout Rates and Early Education

According to the Department of Education, the number of California high school students who dropped out in 2006-2007 is ominous. Questions over what can be done to remedy the situation are mounting quickly. Last week, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the startling dropout rate a civil rights issue and state Sen. Darryl Steinberg (D- Sacramento) suggested a campaign to end the blight.

However, James Heckman, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, argues that these gaps could have been predicted some 10-15 years ago, and that solutions can be found through supporting families and nurturing children as early in their life as possible.

In his recently released paper Schools, Skill and Synapses, Heckman says that the root of social problems such as high school dropout rates, do not lay with poor school quality but rather lack of adequate family support for children at early ages, and that early intervention can be a powerful antidote. A section of his paper outlines various factors in parents' lives that can influence whether or not their child has a stimulating early experience. This includes unplanned pregnancy, whether a parent is college educated as well as father involvement. He illustrates that gaps found by age 5 due to the lack of a nurturing family environment persist into adulthood.

While not framed as a panacea, the paper cites long studied early intervention programs such as the Perry Preschool Project and the Abecedarian Program - both placed in inner cities to help with children's school readiness - as examples of how well designed programs can combat the negative impact of poor family support. According to longitudinal studies, the graduates from these two early intervention programs have faired far better than their peers who were not participants.

Heckman's report echoes what many child development experts have said, (see last weeks article Harvard's Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy) and it outlines a unique tie between increased drop out rates and a family's investment in the first five years of their child's life. Click here to download the full report.

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