The first chapter of the book is only 19 pages—but it provides a useful introduction the topic and complete overview of the book.The chapter first documents the magnitude of the problem.According to Education Week, the nation’s leading education periodical, an estimated 1.3 million students from the high school class of 2010 failed to graduate, which represents 30 percent of the 4.3 million students enrolled in the ninth grade in 2006. The dropout problem also varies widely among populations of students and schools. Only 56 percent of Hispanics and 54 percent of Blacks from that class graduated in 2007, compared to 81 percent of Asians and 77 percent of Whites. And Education Week estimates the high school graduation rate for the class of 2007 among the nation’s 50 largest school districts ranged from 40 percent in Clark County, Nevada to 83 percent in Montgomery County, Maryland.Further, research by Nobel economist James Heckman show that the high school graduation rate is lower than the federal government reports; is lower today than 40 years ago; and disparities in graduation rates among racial and ethnic minorities have not improved over the last 35 years. The chapter then goes on to document how reducing the number of dropouts has become a national policy concern both inside and outside of the government. Over the last six years, it has received attention from Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and President Obama.The chapter then discusses, briefly, discusses the three remaining facets of the problem: the individual and social consequences, the causes, and the solutions.My wish is that this book will prove valuable to all stakeholders with an interest in and a commitment to solving the nation’s dropout crisis.For scholars, the book provides a comprehensive review of the research literature on dropouts, citing more than 700 references.For educators, the book provides an overview of the various intervention strategies for solving the dropout crisis, from programmatic interventions that targets students most at risk for dropping out to systemic interventions. It reviews the various methods for determining the effectiveness of educational interventions and the research evidence on the effectiveness of specific interventions. At the same time, it points out some contradictions in several reviews of the research literature.For policymakers, the book describes current approaches to addressing the dropout problem at the national, state, and local levels; the limitations of these approaches; and five recommendations for addressing the dropout crisis at a more fundamental level.