The national consensus is that many public high schools, especially in urban areas, are the weakest link in the American education system, plagued by high rates of school dropout, persistently low performance, and disengaged students.
The hope on the horizon is that the urban high school has become a central focus of reform.
Closing the gap between students' rising aspirations and their educational attainment requires that high schools reduce dropout rates and begin to view college preparation and attendance as primary goals and important measures of their performance.
Research from Chicago and recent results from MDRC's evaluation of the Talent Development High School model indicate that schools can make substantial progress by targeting their efforts on students' successful transition to high school --- improving their skills before and initially upon entering high school --- and reducing high rates of ninth-grade course failure.
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