Dropping Out of
High School
Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
By Blaise A. Russo
October 2013
Define The Problem
 The high school dropout problem is a severe
epidemic for the United States, nationwide.
Only 71 percent of students graduate from high
school.
High School students are dropping out at alarming
rates every day across the country.
Gather the Evidence
 High School Dropouts: A Review of Issues and Evidence
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ
369707
 The Declining American High School Graduation Rate:
Evidence
http://www.nber.org/reporter/2008number1/heckman.html
 The New Gender Gap
http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2003-05-25/the-newgender-gap
Gather the Evidence
 Who Drops Out of School and Why - Gevirtz Graduate
School of ...
 http://education.ucsb.edu/rumberger/book/
 By the Numbers: Dropping Out of High School |
Dropout Nation - PBS
 Do Dropouts Drop Out Too Soon? International
Evidence From ...
Identify The Causes
Characteristics of Students Who Drop Out

Socioeconomic Background. National data show that students from low-income families are
2.4 times more likely to drop out of school than are children from middle-income families, and
10.5 times more likely than students from high-income families.

Disabilities. Students with disabilities are also more likely to drop out. The National Transition
Study estimates that as many as 36.4% of disabled youth drop out of school before
completing a diploma or certificate.

Race-ethnicity. Hispanics and African Americans are at greater risk of dropping out than
whites. Hispanics are twice as likely as African Americans to drop out. White and Asian
American students are least likely to drop out.

Academic Factors. National research also indicates that academic factors are clearly related
to dropping out. Students who receive poor grades, who repeat a grade, or who are over-age
for their class are more likely to drop out.

Absenteeism. Students who have poor attendance for reasons other than illness are also
more likely to drop out. Clearly, students who miss school fall behind their peers in the
classroom. This, in turn, leads to low self-esteem and increases the likelihood that at-risk
students will drop out of school.

Occupational Aspirations. Young people’s perceptions of the economic opportunities
available to them also play a role in their decision to drop out or stay in school. Dropouts often
have lower occupational aspirations than their peers.
Identify The Causes
Predictive Factors. The following individual-level factors are
all strongly predictive of dropping out of high school:
 Grade retention (being held back to repeat a grade)
 Poor academic performance
 Moves location during high school
 High absenteeism
 High absenteeism
 The student’s feeling that no adult in the school cares about
his or her welfare
Identify The Causes
Reasons young people give for dropping out:
 Didn't like school in general or the school they were attending
 Were failing, getting poor grades, or couldn't keep up with school work
 Didn't get along with teachers and/or students
 Had disciplinary problems, were suspended, or expelled
 Didn't feel safe in school
 Got a job, had a family to support, or had trouble managing both school and work
 Got married, got pregnant, or became a parent
 Had a drug or alcohol problem
 http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/.../background-high-school-dropouts
Identify the Consequences
 Earnings Potential
 Public Assistance
 Single Parents
 Prisons
Evaluate an Existing Policy
Current Policy
 Reinforce the Right to a Public Education
 Count and Account for Dropouts
 Use Graduation and On-Track Rates to Trigger Transformative Reform
 Invent New Models
 Accelerate Preparation for Postsecondary Success
 Provide Stable Funding for Systemic Reform
 http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/DropoutBrief-090810.pdf
Develop Solutions
Agree or Disagree?

Each state prepare teachers and high schools to identify students’ strengths and allow them to opt
into work-study programs or vocational training. This is working in many states, and students are
succeeding in these non-traditional contexts.

Raise the age in which students can finish school. In nineteen states, they can drop out at 16 years
old. Why not require them to stay until 18? This way, they stay in school, but move down a
suitable track toward their career desires at 16.

Celebrate the most needed jobs in our society and encourage the right students to move in those
directions, even if they’re blue-collar jobs. One man said: “We spent so much time celebrating
GETTING the corner office, we forget how to build it.”

Expose students to role-models from career fields that have loads of openings and career
opportunities. Often students move in directions they know something about. Put the right people
(alum?) in front of them and watch what happens. –
 http://growingleaders.com/blog/four-solutions-to-schooldropouts/#sthash.LFH3JAWD.dpuf
Select The Best Solution
(Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)
 Can we help dropouts: Thinking about the Undoable
 As Strong as the Weakest Link: Urban High School
Dropout