Synthesis Essay on School Reform

High schools are the building blocks for our careers. This is the time in our lives when we discover our key interest in who we want to become and what we want to do for the rest of our lives. However, this is not always the case. There is a major crisis in high school education that is affecting student career outcomes. Through thoroughly conducted research, studies show that corrupt reform policies, lack of student resources, and the lack of connection to real-world scenarios have and can negatively impact student academic success. Thus, resulting in higher dropout rates, an increase in the workforce, and a decrease in seeking post-secondary education. Evidence has revealed the positive impact Career and Technical Education has posed on this crisis. The purpose here is to shed light on the issues surrounding education, and the effects of these issues, bring forth what can help in career preparations, and propose some ideas regarding how to help high schools do a better job.

Education reforms have been around for many centuries. The purpose of education reform is to continuously improve the education system resulting in higher success rates. However, student performance has been continuously dropping in the last decade due to corrupted reform policies (Croft et al. 71). In the article, 'The Perfect Storm of Education Reform: High-Stakes Testing and Teacher Evaluation,' Sheryl J. Croft describes education reform as, 'One inspired by [racial] equity and the other by inequity,' (Croft 71). Valuable education reforms (e.g., A+ Education Reform Act) that were once in place and brought great success, are being replaced by corrupted reforms that stripped 4.5 billion dollars from minority-dominated public schools (Croft et al. 71-72). This extreme cutback had massive devastating effects that can be described as a domino effect. Croft states the effects that will introduce my next case, '. . . low-income students were exposed to a political onslaught of financial deprivations that led to a reduction in staff, resources, professional development funds, and furloughed days, charter and private schools and the students they serve were sheltered by legislative maneuvers and financial appropriations,' (Croft 72).

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As previously discussed, student resources were cut. This means that staff members were fired such as teachers and counselors, funded programs that helped with career development were no longer available, along the loss of student-teacher relationships. These are key factors to academic success. In the article, 'College and Career Readiness Counseling Support Scales,' Lapan et al. discuss the importance and outcomes of frequently meeting with your counselor, developing an appropriate close relationship with them, as well as the impact of counselors utilizing career development programs. Lapan states, 'This national focus is fully aligned with long-standing priorities of leading counseling and career development organizations,' (Lapan par. 3). Through approved research, they were able to provide information regarding how helpful and useful school counselors were to graduating seniors. Studies have shown that when counselors and students developed a better relationship with one another, students had better secondary education results (Lapan et al. par. 4). The results pulled from their research showed that their consumer empowerment model was able to provide better communication amongst students, families, and schools as well with what type of career preparations they should be receiving (Lapan et al. par. 58).

Ed Hidalgo, a speaker from the YouTube channel TEDx Talks, preaches the importance of these assessment models counselors use in the video titled, 'How can a child aspire to a career they don't know exists?' In this video, Hidalgo speaks up on the lack of dedicated time and effort in figuring out who we are and where we, as students, fit in (0:53). We can draw a connection that the cut in student resources played a part in this experience. Hidalgo addresses how it is important to have an underlying foundation such as sciences and English (1:23). However, learning what our strengths and what we excel at are just as important. It wasn't until much later in his career that he discovered the importance of career preparation models such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which he later implemented into early education (Hidalgo 4:17). Career assessment models can analyze students and develop specific career opportunities based on student interest. Assessment models are crucial to career development for high school students. Students can figure out what paths they want to take and what careers they feel they may be best at. It allows students to develop ideas early on about their future, which in turn can increase the career force. Academic success is dropping due to the cut in resources like these.

Career preparations include the implementation of Career and Technical Education. These are funded career academies that provide students with an opportunity to focus on career paths that pique their interest. These academies provide the relevancy that is missing in regular high school education (Vail par. 7). Career and Technical Education, also known as CTE, needs to remain the major topic of high school reform. The reason is the significant outcomes it has shown in the high school completion rate, labor force, and post-secondary education which Shaun M. Dougherty discusses in his book, 'Career and Technical Education in High School: Does It Improve Student Outcomes?' Through thoroughly conducted research, studies showed that students graduating and going straight into the labor force were able to find higher-paying jobs than those who did not take CTE courses (Dougherty 12). Several studies also proved that implementing CTE courses helped increase high school completion rates and enrollment in four-year colleges (Dougherty 12). It is crazy to think that you can earn an associate degree in high school through courses that focus on the career path of your choice (Vail par. 8). CTE provides amazing opportunities to students. Here, they get to learn whether or not a major is for them along with developing key skills that will benefit them in the workplace.

Many teachers agree that there is a lack of resources and support systems for students at school that results in dropping out (Bridgeland par. 9). Bridgeland et al. discuss the perspective of teachers and principals on high school dropouts, the problem, and the reason why students drop out in the article, 'The High School Dropout Problem.' Bridgeland found that less than a third of teachers believed that schools should expect students to reach significant academic standards, college readiness, and extra support to student's needs (Bridgeland par. 8). They concluded through research that very few teachers and principals believed that dropping out was a major crisis (Bridgeland et al. par. 11). There were various reasons listed as to why students drop out such as lack of parental involvement, boredom, lack of support at home and school, no connection of school to real life, and felt unprepared for high school due to previous schooling (Bridgeland et al. par. 15-18). Even in Kathleen Vail's article titled, 'Technology Drives Career and Technical Education in High School Reform,' she addresses some key reasons why students drop out and why major reform needs to happen. Vail shares a quote from Edward E. Gordon stating, 'Look at the dropout studies. Students aren't falling through the cracks; it's the Grand Canyon . . . Students are dropping out because they are bored and see no connection between what they study and the real world. They need Shakespeare and history and biology, but they also need career component education so they can see the connections,' (qtd. in Vail par. 40). Student resources need to continue being funded and implemented as we have discovered one of the devastating effects. If students do not obtain a high school education, we can conclude that there will be a decrease in the career force.

The problem is that if one of the major reasons why students are dropping out is due to lack of support (which we have discussed the cut in student resources), then the limited faculty that remains needs to step up to the plate and provide that extra support for students. The amount of support provided should be endless whether that is received from the principals, teachers, security, counselor, or even the lunch lady. Faculty members should believe that all students can achieve success no matter their struggles. Teachers believing in students is crucial, as it can impact academic success in the classroom.

Teacher-student relationships can have an extraordinary impact. When students have good relationships established with their teachers the learning environment becomes more productive. Allowing students to express their needs, praising good achievement within the classroom, and providing and offering student engagement can provide a sense of support which can increase high school completion rates (Pas par. 2-3). Research concludes that students not feeling connected in the academic workplace can establish poor behavior (Pas et al. par. 1). When poor behavior is established frequently in the classroom, studies show that less academic work is conducted resulting in low academic success and negative peer interactions (Pas par. 1). We can draw a connection and conclude from previous research discussed that providing student support and believing in students can prevent high school dropouts.

In conclusion, corrupted education reforms were the initial cause of education issues, which resulted in a domino effect. The effects were following issues such as lack of student resources and support. Student resources include teachers, counselors, and career preparations such as Career and Technical Education along with career assessment models. We discussed the importance of student-teacher relationships, student-counselor relationships, career preparation instruments, and academies. The results of having these resources were outstanding such as increased post-secondary education, increased high school completion rates, and an increased relationship to the real world. The lack of these resources results in high school dropouts.

If the main source of the problem is due to corruption, then laws need to be set in place that keep effective reforms. Reforms should go through extensive evaluations before being put into motion. Teachers and counselors should go through extensive evaluations yearly as they have one of the most crucial impacts on students. If they are not using all the resources available and not meeting standards such as high test scores, then termination should be the next option. Effective staff members are important in the outcome of student success. Funding for new schools, such as charter and private schools, should be funded through communities and fundraisers that support such an idea. Career and Technical Education programs should continue being implemented in public education as they pose outstanding results. The major takeaway here is don’t try and fix what isn’t broken.

Works Cited

1. Bridgeland, M. John, et al. “The High School Dropout.” Education Digest, vol. 75, no. 3, Nov. 2009. p20-26. 7p.
2. Croft, Sheryl J., et al. “The Perfect Storm of Education Reform: High-Stakes Testing and Teacher Evaluation.” Social Justice, vol. 42, no. 1 (139), 2015, pp. 70-92., www.jstor.org/stable/24871313.
3. Dougherty, Shaun M. Career and Technical Education in High School: Does It Improve Student Outcomes? Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse, 2016.
4. Lapan, Richard T., et al. “College and Career Readiness Counseling Support Scales.” Journal of Counseling & Development, vol. 95, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 77–86., doi:10.1002/jcad.12119.
5. Pas, Elise T., et al. “Profiles of Classroom Behavior in High Schools: Associations with Teacher Behavior Management Strategies and Classroom Composition.” Journal of School Psychology, vol. 53, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp. 137–148., doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2014.12.005.
6. TEDx Talks. “How can a child aspire to a career they don’t know exists? | Ed Hidalgo | TEDxKids@ElCajon.” YouTube, 1 Jul 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRQLj2erYPk
7. Vail, Kathleen. “Technology Drives Career and Technical Education in High School Reform.” Education Digest, vol. 72, no. 8, ser. 4-11, Apr. 2007. 4-11. 8p.