EDLTalk David D. Smith

The college dropout rate in the United States has been decreasing in the last 20 years, however even today, less than two-thirds of those that attend 4-year universities will graduate with a degree.  Even more alarming is that students from low-income areas are 7.6 times less likely to graduate than their “well-to-do” counterparts, let alone make it past their second year.  In this discussion, I will be examining some of the key factors that exist in or attribute to the low-income household; discussing the historical factors that have created and led to the over-expansion of urban areas, and highlighting the financial disparities that exist within public school funding today.   Finally, with a focus on low-income, single-parent households, I will begin a discussion into the plans, resources, and materials necessary to create scaffolding at the secondary level to support first-generation college-minded students, and their families, in preparation for attending and ultimately graduating from a 4-year university.    



** The views contained and comments made are my own and do not reflect the opinions or policies of USC Rossier School of Education, its affiliates nor any other entity, employer, or person.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson, as part of his War on Poverty / Great Society plan, signed into law the most significant legislation regarding education in the United States; the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  Over the last 55 years, this law has been reauthorized numerous times and reinvented by four different presidential administrations, the most recent change enacted in 2015 by the Obama administration.   The amount of funding, regulation on how to access the funding, and the ratio of state to federal authority on decision making for the use of the funding have varied with each version of the law.  During this discussion, I examine the principles behind each of these reauthorization/reinventions and more importantly I look at how each act has provided support for student learning and education.  Throughout the discussion, I seek the answer to the question, is every student succeeding?  Or, at minimum, are these federal programs setting the students up for success?  



** The views contained and comments made are my own and do not reflect the opinions or policies of USC Rossier School of Education, its affiliates nor any other entity, employer, or person.