This morning on Morning Edition on National Public Radio there was a 3
minute clip about a study on dropouts.

"Morning Edition, March 2, 2006 · A new study from the Gates Foundation
finds that high school dropouts aren't always getting F's on their report
cards. A surprising number are C or better students, and most say they
regret having dropped out."

The conclusions the study draws are largely about how states and high
schools should rethink what they are doing, but I was wondering what this
says to those of us who are in adult literacy and the learners we are
dealing with.  I think we often assume that our adult learners failed at 
high school and that's why they dropped out.

The clip is worth listening to.  You can access it at
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5241173>.

Donna

Donna Brian
Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee
djgbrian at utk.edu