In her April 10, 2018, article “High School Diploma Criteria Fall Short, Study Finds,” Education Week staff writer Catherine Gewertz reports that “‘Paper Thin,’ a report by the Alliance for Excellent Education, found that U.S. schools award 98 different types of high school diplomas, and only half prepare students well for college or career.”
In 2018, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that high school graduation rates have reached a record-breaking high of 85% (“High school graduation rates”), and per the NCES “[t]he 6-year graduation rate … for first-time, full-time undergraduate students who began seeking a bachelor’s degree at a 4-year degree-granting institution in fall 2010 was 60 percent” (“Graduation rates”).
According to an October 14, 2018, EdSource article, “Even though tuition costs at the 23 Cal State universities and ten UC campuses have been relatively stable over recent years, financial aid has not kept up with rising housing costs, pushing more students to work more hours” (Gordon).
An October 14, 2018, EdSource article points to one cause of low college graduation rates: students who work more than 15 hours a week while attending school. Per EdSource:
Larimore’s center last year published a report that found that working more than 15 hours a week appears to especially harm low-income students’ chances to graduate. The more work hours a student takes on beyond 12 or 15 a week, “the more risk you take on in jeopardizing academic achievement or time to degree,” Larimore said.
Among low-income students, 63 percent of those who worked less than 15 hours a week graduated within six years compared to 41 percent who worked more hours, according to the report. Low-income students tend to work off-campus, rather than or in addition to on-campus work-study jobs that accommodate their school schedules better, the study noted. Work-study usually limits students to 15 or so hours a week, which is not enough for students who need more funds or have to help support their families. (Gordon)
- Place the Works Cited below after your paper; it is NOT part of the word count for your essay.
Works Cited
Gewertz, Catherine. “High School Diploma Criteria Fall Short, Study Finds.” Education Week, 10 Apr. 2018.
www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/04/11/high-school-diploma-criteria-fall-short-study.html.
Gordon, Larry. “New warnings about California students juggling college and jobs.” EdSource, 14 Oct. 2018.
https://edsource.org/2018/new-warnings-about-california-students-juggling-college-and-jobs/603499
“Graduation Rates.” Fast Facts. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education, 2018,
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=40
“High school graduation rates.” Fast Facts. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education,
2018, nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=805.
““2015 | Mathematics & Reading at Grade 12”.” The Nation’s Report Card, U.S. Department of Education, 2018,
www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_g12_2015/#/.