In several of the largest school systems across the country, half of the students are dropping out, and the problem is not only in the big cities.

A recent study by the Department of Education found that 31% of American students were dropping out or failing to graduate in the nation’s largest 100 public school districts.

[Read](http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2667532&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 “Read the Story”) (ABC)

In part 2, ABC looks at one school’s attempts to keep students in school. [Read](http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2668627&page=1 “Read Part 2”) (ABC)

ABC also has a video about the dropout problem. [Watch](http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2668856 “Watch the Video”) (ABC)