Today’s News
The Truth Behind the Headlines
August 4, 2005
Arizona ties with Louisiana for the worst high
school dropout rate in the nation, according to the just-released
2005 Kids Count Data Book.
In response, the Children’s Action Alliance issued a statement calling
for more early education, among other items.
However, if you look beyond the headlines, the
Kids Count data
add to a majority of evidence indicating that early education has little
to no bearing on high school outcomes.
Take North Dakota for example. It has the lowest
early education enrollment in the nation. Yet the Roughrider State had
the lowest dropout rates in both 1990 and 2000, even as its early
education enrollment declined from
56 to 34 percent over that same period.
When it comes to early education, passions run
high but the research is clear. Early education has little influence on
high school graduation rates.
If you would like to be removed from the Goldwater
Institute e-mail notification system, please reply to this message and
type “REMOVE” in the subject line.
Key Links:
Contact:
Vicki Murray, Ph.D., Director, Center for
Educational Opportunity, Goldwater Institute
(602) 462-5000
Goldwater Institute I
500 East Coronado Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85004 I
Phone (602) 462-5000 I Fax
(602) 256-7045
email info@goldwaterinstitute.org