Measured Progress: A Report on the High School Reform Movement

The American high school is not as impervious to change as many believe it to be, the new research shows. Reformers in many cities have replaced large, "comprehensive" high schools with smaller, more personal learning communities where anonymity gives way to a sense of shared purpose, and as a result, teachers and students are motivated to work harder.

Requiring students to take greater numbers of rigorous courses that are more likely to prepare them for college does not necessarily lead to lower graders or higher dropout rates, if the courses are taught by capable teachers, the new research suggests.

Intensive "catch-up" courses help a significant percentage of students who enter high school well behind their peers reduce their chances of dropping out and get on the track to college.

But researchers have found that though creating more supportive educational environments for students is critical, doing so produces more significant improvements in student learning when combined with high expectations and rigorous instruction. Improving school climates alone is not the answer.

Many students learn demanding academic content better when it is infused with workplace applications and problems. But teachers need help in creating such courses, researchers say.

And there's a growing consensus that struggling high schools require directive support from outside organizations—especially the 15 percent of the nation's high schools (2,000 schools) that produce 50 percent of its dropouts.