Who Had to Go.
State laws defining compulsory school attendance varied widely during the 1950s. Children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who had legal employment typically were allowed to quit school. In twenty-one states a student could leave only after reaching the eighth grade, and in twelve states only after reaching the sixth or seventh grade. In 1955 the NEA called for mandatory attendance until graduation from high school or age eighteen. But the issue fell under the states' control, so each state had to debate the issue and pass its own law.
Why Drop Out?
A survey in 1950 of students who dropped out before completing high school reported that 36 percent preferred to work; 15 percent needed the money to help at home; 11 percent were not interested in school; and the remainder cited various reasons, such as failure, poor performance, ill health, or dislike of a subject or teacher. A majority of students...
Source: American Decades: 1950-1959, ©1994 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 197 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to:
- 30,000+ literature study guides
- Critical essays on more than 30,000 works of literature from Salem on Literature (exclusive to eNotes)
- An unparalleled literary criticism section. 40,000 full-length or excerpted essays.
- Content from leading academic publishers, all easily citable with our "Cite this page" button.
- 100% satisfaction guarantee READ MORE
