CHICAGO — They’re the kids who fall through the cracks, the ones who rarely get extra attention or tutoring – who, very often, disappear even from the statistics. But high school dropouts are getting increasing attention as groundbreaking studies show how alarming the problem is. Nearly a third of high school students don’t graduate on time; among blacks, Hispanics, and native Americans, it’s almost half. Now, a new survey, released Thursday, suggests that the problem, while deep, can be fixed. Most students don’t drop out because they can’t do the work. Nearly 90 percent had passing grades when they left school, according to the survey of dropouts by Civic Enterprises. Their major reason for opting out? The classes were too boring. “We’ve gone in and talked face to face with kids who have dropped out of school. What they’re telling us debunks popular assumptions,” says John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises and one of the authors of the survey. “The problem is solvable.” Such findings will be key as states begin tackling the issue. Already this year, Massachusetts, Colorado, West Virginia, New Hampshire, and Indiana, among others, are seeking to raise the legal dropout age or […]