High school system fails most students

By MELINDA FRENCH GATES

WASHINGTON POST

Number of students who dropped out of high school last year: 1.1 million.

Difference between the lifetime earnings of a high school dropout and a college graduate: $1.5 million.

Of 300 questions asked in presidential candidate debates this year, number that addressed this issue: eight.

These figures tell us that, while America’s high school system works for some students, it fails many, if not most. America’s high schools are at risk of becoming a disaster, yet few of our political leaders are talking about it.

That a million students drop out each year is terrible. But even worse, many of those who do graduate aren’t learning what they need to be successful. Students are sitting in classrooms, bored and unchallenged, and are being left unprepared for the future. In a 2005 survey of American manufacturers, four out of five say K-12 schools are not doing a good job preparing students for the workplace. One in three college freshmen has to take remedial classes to catch up on things he or she should have learned in high school. American high school students have some of the worst math skills in the developed world.

Behind the numbers are heartbreaking stories. Last year, Oprah Winfrey and I taped a two-part series about the troubles in America’s high schools. A bright young woman named Beth Martin was profiled. Beth was valedictorian of a rural high school near Knoxville, Tenn. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA and had dreamed of becoming a doctor. But when Beth arrived at college, she was shocked to discover how unprepared she was.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Beth said. “I didn’t know how to operate the things in the laboratory experiments. I had never been taught how to use a microscope.”

Beth had worked hard to prepare herself for college, but it wasn’t enough.

“I’m so far behind that I just feel like it’s going to be impossible for me to catch up. I don’t feel smart at all in college. I feel — I feel like I’m stupid,” she said.

Expectations for Beth and millions of other students must be aligned with the 21st-century demands of college and work, and we need to help students meet those expectations.

Next generation of leaders

While school districts and states clearly have roles in this issue, so do our national leaders. Our country won’t be able to address other major issues, such as the economy, the Iraq war, health care or immigration, if our high schools don’t adequately prepare the next generation of leaders. And our schools won’t improve until their problems are recognized.

So far, the presidential candidates in both parties have yet to demonstrate the bold leadership and political courage Americans deserve. In their news releases, speeches and town hall conversations, they devote disturbingly little time to our nation’s education crisis.

Sparking that conversation is the goal of Strong American Schools, a nonpartisan issue campaign funded by the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We believe that Americans have the power to improve millions of children’s lives by telling their political leaders — in the 2008 presidential campaign and beyond — that high schools matter and by demanding to know more about their plans for fixing them.

When pollsters ask people about their priorities, schools are always near the top of the list. The problem is that the issues are complex, and people just don’t know what they can do to make a difference.

If Americans can speak with one voice, then the next president and other elected leaders will feel compelled to offer visions and plans that will help ensure that every child in America attends a great high school.

There are 15 more presidential debates scheduled. Those are 15 opportunities to ask those who would be our political leaders to prioritize the preparation of every child in America for college, career and life. As long as a million students are dropping out every year, and even bright young people like Beth Martin are not getting prepared for college, this is a conversation our nation must have.

X Melinda French Gates, a director of The Washington Post Co., is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.