Douglas Alexander: “there is much talk about change. I know one opportunity for real change that would affect nearly 7,000 young Americans…”

“there is much talk about change. I know one opportunity for real change that would affect nearly 7,000 young Americans every schoolday--5 students every minute. Gang violence? Drugs? No, neither of those. This is less flashy, but as serious. It is the persistently high number of high school dropouts. Twenty-five years ago, the landmark Federal report ``A Nation at Risk'' said: If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. In response the Nation's Governors and President George H.W. Bush set national goals, one of which was that the graduation rate would rise to at least 90 percent by the year 2000. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the national graduation rate was only 68 percent in 2006. There has been plenty of effort and some gains. Fourth graders nationwide recently scored higher than ever in reading, while both fourth and eighth grade students achieved record high math scores. Yet in 2006, among minority students, only 58 percent of Hispanic and 53 percent of African-American students graduate with a regular diploma, compared to 76 percent of White students and 80 percent of Asian Americans. When students drop out they lose, employers lose, society loses, and democracy suffers. These students are more likely to go to prison, to rely on public programs and to go without health insurance.”