In U.S. high schools, too many empty seats.

• Author: Herbert, Bob
• Position: Brief Article

For those concerned about the state of leadership in America, and who wonder where the next generation of leaders will come from, I can tell you it's not likely to emerge from the millions of high school dropouts we're setting loose in the land. The U.S. has one of the highest high school dropout rates in the industrial world, which can't be comforting news in the ferociously competitive environment of an increasingly globalized economy. Dropouts, on average, earn $9,245 less per year than high school graduates; the poverty rate for families headed by dropouts is more than...