VOA慢速英语20060608a

EDUCATION REPORT - Trying to Get More Students to Finish High SchoolBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Thursday, June 08, 2006

I'm Mario Ritter with the VOA Special English Education Report.

Many young people in the United States never finish high school. Exactly how many drop out is another issue. Recent studies of dropout¹ rates have had conflicting results.

For one thing, schools define² and measure their dropout rates differently.

Some researchers say about fifteen to twenty percent of public school students do not complete their education. But many other experts and policymakers believe that for the past twenty years, the dropout rate has been around thirty percent.


Dropout from Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, California

For Latino and black students, the numbers are even higher. Researchers say almost half of them leave school.

At the same time, almost half the states let students leave school before the age of eighteen without informing their parents.

Finding³ a good job without a high school education is more and more difficult. A Northeastern University study in two thousand two found that almost half of all dropouts age sixteen to twenty-four did not have a job.

The lack of a high school education can also lead to other problems. An estimated⁴ two-thirds of prisoners in the United States dropped out of high school.

Recent studies have shown that the majority of students who drop out do not do it because they are failing. Many are bored with their classes or feel disconnected from their school and teachers. Some students feel that educators place low expectations on them. Teen pregnancies⁵ also add to the dropout problem.

During the past twenty years, there have been efforts to increase graduation rates through education reforms. Some communities are working on dropout prevention programs. These include alternative high schools to meet special needs.

Some programs, for example, provide free transportation and childcare to help young mothers and fathers finish school. Yet special programs can cost a lot, and many school systems have limited budgets.

Federal⁶ spending on second-chance programs to help students finish school has decreased from the nineteen seventies. This was shown in a report last year from the Educational Testing Service.

Experts suggest early warning systems to help identify young schoolchildren at risk of dropping out of high school. They say schools also need to get parents more involved, especially if their children are missing⁷ school often.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Brianna Blake. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

2 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

3 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

4 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

5 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

6 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

7 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。