Another Reason to CONVERGE

In a recent ABC News article, 1 in 10 schools were considered to be dropout factories. What would have helped these students? The findings in the article (in parentheses) support the other research the CONVERGE team references...engagement (low student expectations led to dull classes), connections (one dropout would have liked someone to tell him "we're going to help you"), and literacy (students are entering HS with poor literacy skills).

The article also discusses legislative proposals to focus on the dropout issue. No matter how dropouts are counted, the aforementioned areas are of utmost concern. How can we focus our attention on the causes of dropping out, not just symptoms, like low test scores?