I did not graduate from high school (would have been class of 1978). I dropped out of high school three months into my junior year for reasons not related to my ability to learn. Now I have a MA degree and a professional career (completing my 11th year in this profession). There are a myriad of reasons why our countries youth do not complete their high school education, some of which have nothing to do with their ability to learn or how good the school is that they attend.
Most of these kids will just lay back and accept what life gives them.
I graduated in ‘64. There were a lot of young men/boys in my school who did not graduate. It was because they went through the trade school program, and got good jobs in the field of their choice.
As you well know, far too much is made of
graduating and graduation rates.
That’s only a rough surrogate metric.
The CONTENT of what a school-leaver
... at any point ... knows, and can do,
is far more important than possession of a diploma.