parents, and future employers that American high schools are in
need of significant reform. Nationwide, only about 75% of high
school freshmen graduate from high school within 4 years
(Snyder and Dillow, 2012). Students from poor families and students
of color are more likely to drop out than more advantaged
youth. Improvements that have recently been seen in lower grades
(possibly because of the introduction of accountability reforms like
No Child Left Behind) have failed to carry over to high school performance.
According to the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP), 74% of 12th graders have math skills below the
proficiency level, and 88% and 93% of Hispanic and Black students,
respectively, fail to meet the bar.1 Further, over 60% of employers
complain that high school graduates do not have good math and
writing skills