1 minute read
HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES
DROPOUT RATE AMONG ENGLISH LEARNERS DECLINES BY MORE THAN HALF SINCE 2009.
Description Of Indicator
This indicator measures high school dropout rates for Orange County school districts, including detail by race/ethnicity and by program. Beginning in 2008, a student is considered a dropout if he or she was enrolled in grades 9 to 12 during the previous year and left before completing the current school year, or did not attend the expected school or any other school by October of the following year. Students who received a diploma, General Education Diploma (GED), or California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) certificate; transferred to a degree-granting college; passed away; had a school-recognized absence; or were known to have left the state are not counted as dropouts.1
Why is this indicator important?
Education provides benefits to both individuals and society. Compared to high school graduates, dropouts earn lower wages, resulting in lower tax contributions and more utilization of welfare programs. They are also at higher risk for criminal involvement and health problems.2
Findings
• The Orange County cohort dropout rate for 2017/181 was 5.3%, lower than the California dropout rate of 9.6% in 2017/181 and the United States dropout rate for public schools of 5.4% in 2017.3
• In 2017/18, there were 41,787 cohort students of which 37,267 graduated and 2,213 students dropped out. The remaining 2,307 students did not graduate because they were either considered still enrolled at the time of the cohort’s graduation (1,165 students), Special Education completers (388), CHSPE completers (223) or completed adult education diploma (21) or the GED (13). A total of 497 students were “other transfers.”
• Dropout rates for the 2017/18 school year continued to be highest among Black students (10.3%), followed by Hispanic (7.3%), Multiracial (6.1%), American Indian (5.5%), White (3.5%) and Asian (2.3%) students.
• By program, dropout rates were highest among students enrolled as foster youth (26.9%), followed by Migrant Education (15.1%), English Learners (11.9%), Students with Disabilities (11.3%) and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged (7.6%) students.4
Percent of Grade 9-12 Cohort Dropouts, by
•
•
•
•
Note: A cohort is a defined group of students that could potentially graduate during a 4-year time period (grade 9 through grade 12). Due to the changes in the methodology for calculating the 2016–17 Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) and subsequent years, the 2016–17 ACGR data is not comparable with the cohort outcome data from prior years.
Source:
