In this month's American School Board Journal, Kathleen Vail articulates the need for a dramatic transformation of the American high school. "Fifty years ago," she explains, "the American high school was doing fine." Today, it's on life support, as evidenced by high dropout rates among poor and minority youths, the number of college students (58 percent) who need to take remedial courses in college, and the dwindling faith that employers have in the value of a high school diploma. This issue is being raised in many circles - see our review of a recent ACT report below and the American Diploma Project for more - but, as we see in so many education reform domains, defining the problem is a lot easier than forging a consensus on its solutions. The usual suspects will no doubt call for more money in exchange for little accountability. Reform-minded organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will continue to tie grants to the creation of smaller learning communities and charter high schools. There is mounting demand for reform models that seek to overhaul high schools by transforming their curriculum and instruction. And President Bush has signaled a desire to extend NCLB's accountability and testing provisions through high school. While there is no agreement on the best way forward, clearly there is gathering urgency for bigger and more rapid changes. As San Diego's chief of secondary reform notes, "we can't put Band-Aids on sucking chest wounds."
"Transforming a faltering American icon: Remaking high school," by Kathleen Vail, American School Board Journal, November 2004