Requiring New Jersey High Schools to Report Alternative Education Data

The Idea

In combating the dropout, New Jersey should collect annual alternative education program data from schools to help evaluate alternative programs.

Key Facts

• The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that New Jersey had 15, 573 high school dropouts in 2008. 
• If all high schools dropouts graduated they would have had a projected additional lifetime income of 5,088,980,000.
• Many high schools in New Jersey use alternative education programs as a high school dropout prevention strategy.
• New Jersey schools are not required to submit information about alternative education programs to the state separately from regular and special education data (except if the school is classified as an alternative education school).