The increasing number of young people attending our nation's high schools presents several important policy implications. High schools, on average, cost more than double to build than elementary schools. According to a 1999 report on school construction by School Planning and Management magazine, the average elementary school costs $7 million to build while the average high school costs $18 million.

The increasing enrollment impacts the number of high schools we must build. Entering this equation is the recommended size of the schools we should build. Many school districts continue to build large high schools even though the National Association of Secondary School Principals suggests that the ideal high school should have a maximum of 600 students. About 71 percent of all high school students now go to schools with at least 1,000 students. The number of schools with more than 1,500 students increased by 45 percent between 1990-91 and 1997-98, and the number of students attending schools with enrollment exceeding 1,500 increased by 50 percent.

A second major policy implication relates to hiring and retaining high-quality teachers. High schools will need more math and science teachers, and they are already hard pressed to find enough teachers for demanding subjects like physics and calculus.

A recent Education Department study entitled Answers in the Tool Box notes that "finishing a course beyond the level of Algebra 2 (for example, trigonometry or pre-calculus) more than doubles the odds that a student who enters postsecondary education will complete a bachelor's degree." The same study goes on to state "the impact of a high school curriculum of high academic intensity and quality on degree completion is far more pronounced--and positively--for African American and Latino students than any other pre-college indicator of academic resources. The impact for African American and Latino students is also much greater than it is for white students."

The implications of this study are profound. High schools with rigorous academic programs and high-quality teachers can help many more minority students reach our nation's college ranks. Yet high schools with large numbers of African American and Latino students are often the very schools that have the largest number of teachers teaching out of field--over 22 percent. Indeed, the teacher shortage in high-poverty schools for teachers in mathematics, physical science and biological/life sciences exceeds 50 percent.

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