Kidsdata.org shows the California Department of Education's adjusted four-year derived dropout rate, which reflects the estimated percentage of public high school dropouts over four years based on a single year's data, and the grade 9-12 dropout count. Data also are provided by race/ethnicity.
Research has shown that young people who drop out of high school are more likely to use drugs/alcohol, get involved in criminal activity, and become teen parents. High school dropouts also have higher unemployment rates and are more likely to receive public assistance. Nationwide, high dropout rates among youth of color are of particular concern to educators.
Students drop out of high school for a complex variety of reasons. Predictors of dropping out include a student’s record of school success, engagement in school, vision for their future, role modeling, poverty, teen child bearing and other external factors (1). Estimated graduation rates are particularly low for African American, Latino, and Native American/Alaska Native students in California (2). However, California currently lacks precise data on the number of dropouts or the path they followed before dropping out. This limits effective targeting of dropout prevention strategies and public accountability for the dropout rate.
According to research and subject experts, policies that could prevent and reduce high school dropout include:
- Improving middle school policies and programs, including focusing on transitions from elementary school and to high school, and building student engagement and school achievement (1, 3)
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Creating “early warning systems” to ensure students are on track for graduation their freshman year (1)
- Working toward a more caring, supportive school climate, including making school safer, more engaging and more welcoming to students (1, 4, 5)
- Ensuring funding and support for comprehensive data systems that can accurately document the extent of the problem and inform strategies for student success (1, 6, 7, 8)
- Funding and empowering school districts to provide proven, curriculum-based teen pregnancy prevention programs, offered during or after school, that encourage both delayed sexual activity and informed use of contraception among sexually-active teens (9, 10)
For more policy ideas and research on this topic, see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section, or visit the California Dropout Research Project, the Institute of Education Sciences What Works Clearinghouse, Schott Foundation for Public Education, Jobs for the Future, or the Education Commission of the States. Also see Policy Implications under the following topics on kidsdata.org: Truancy, Suspensions & Expulsions, College Readiness, and Teen Births.
Sources for this narrative:
- Dounay, Jennifer. (2007). Research Sheds Light on the Students Most at Risk of Dropping Out—And How to Keep Students on the ‘Graduation Track. (The Progress of Education Reform 2007: Dropout Prevention, Education Commission of the States). http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/75/33/7533.pdf
- As cited on kidsdata.org. (2011). California Department of Education, California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS). http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/sd/
- Eccles, Jacquelynne. (2008). Can Middle School Reform Increase High School Graduation Rates? (University of Michigan for the California Dropout Research Project). http://www.cdrp.ucsb.edu/pubs_reports.htm
- Bridges, et al. (2008). Giving a Student Voice to California’s Dropout Crisis. (University of California, Berkeley for the California Dropout Research Project). http://esd113.org/uploads/documents/studentsupport/Dropout%20Prevention/CA%20Dropout%20Study%20-%20Student%20Voice.pdf
- Timar, et al. (2008). Does State Policy Help or Hurt the Dropout Problem in California? (University of California, Davis for the California Dropout Research Project). http://www.cdrp.ucsb.edu/pubs_reports.htm
- Vernez, Georges. (2008). Improving California’s Student Data Systems to Address the Dropout Crisis. (RAND Corporation for the California Dropout Research Project). http://www.cdrp.ucsb.edu/pubs_reports.htm
- Hansen, Janet S. (2006). Education Data in California: Availability and Transparency. (RAND). http://irepp.stanford.edu/documents/GDF/STUDIES/15-Hansen/15-Hansen%283-07%29.pdf
- California Department of Education (2010). CALPADS Budget Veto Risk and Issue Assessment for the California Department of Education. (SABOT Technologies). http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr10/documents/yr10rel128att.pdf
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Adolescent Health. (2010). Programs for Replication – Intervention Implementation Reports. http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/prevention/research/programs/index.html
- National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (2010). What Works 2010: Curriculum-based Programs that Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy. http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/pubs/WhatWorks.pdf
According to 2009 estimates, 114,826 California students in grades 9-12 were expected to drop out at some point during high school – about one in every five students (21.5%). Starting in 2007, high school dropout estimates were calculated using student-level data, as opposed to school-level data, as it was in previous years. This resulted in more accurate estimates, but comparisons before and after this date are not recommended.
Projected dropout rates vary widely at the county and school district levels. Generally, higher percentages of African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander students were expected to drop out of high school than Asian, Caucasian/White, and Filipino students.