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HighSchoolStudentDropoutsWhoAreAtRiskandWhatAretheCauses?JorrelSto.Tomas|CoolSchool|02/24/2017
ABSTRACT
Thispaperdiscussesresearchanddatacollectedfromdifferentarticlesanddifferentstatecensuseswhichattempttoshowthestudentswhoareatriskfordroppingoutandwhatiscausingthemtodecidetodoso.
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TableofContents
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................3
THESTUDENTSATRISK........................................................................................................................3SOCIOECONOMICSITUATION..........................................................................................................................3GRADELEVEL...............................................................................................................................................4ETHNICITYANDRACIALBACKGROUND..............................................................................................................6SEX/GENDER...............................................................................................................................................7WHO’SATRISK?..........................................................................................................................................7
CAUSESOFDROPPINGOUT..................................................................................................................8PUSHFACTORS.............................................................................................................................................8PULLFACTORS.............................................................................................................................................8FALLFACTORS..............................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................................10
SOURCES............................................................................................................................................10
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WhyStudentsAreDroppingOutofHighSchool
Abstract EducationintheUnitedStateshasslowlybecomeoneofthemostimportantmetricsforfinding,holding,andprosperinginjobsoverthelastfewdecades.Inthepast,apprenticeships,tradeschools,andon-the-joblearningwasthemostacceptablewayforyoungmenandwomentolearnandacquiretheskillsnecessarytofindandholdajob,andmakeacomfortableliving.Inthepresentday,havingahighschooldiploma,anAssociate’sdegree,anUndergraduatedegree,orfurtherdetermineswhogetshiredandtheextentoffuturepromotions.Despitethistrend,studentsarestilldroppingoutofhighschool.Theratehasdrasticallydeclinedovertheyears,butthereisnodoubtthattherateatwhichthesestudentsareleavingcouldbefurtherreduced.Duetothebroadnessofthistopic,thispaperwillspecificallyfocusoncomparisonsofdropoutratesbetweentheUnitedStates,asawhole,andthestateofCalifornia.Furthermore,thispaperwillprimarilycitedataandstudiespublishedbytheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics(NCES),theCaliforniaDepartmentofEducationDataReportingOffice,andwillciteotherresearchandstudiesthathaveobservedthisproblemforyears.
TheStudentsatRisk Therearemanyreasonswhyastudentwouldwanttodropoutofhighschool,factorsrangingfromsocioeconomicsituationtoanindividual’sfamilylife,butthissectionisfocusedonthecollectedstatisticsfromtheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducationDataReportingOfficeandtheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics(NCES)toshowthevulnerabledemographicsthathaveahigherlikelihoodofdroppingoutofschool.TheonlystatisticthatwillnotbeelaboratedwillbeUrbanandRurallifestylebecauseapaperpublishedbyJeffreyL.Jordan,ina2012editionoftheJournalofResearchinRuralEducation,concludedthattherewerenobigdiscrepanciesindropoutratesduetoaschool’slocationinarural,urban,orsuburbanarea(Itshouldbenoted,rateshavebeenreflectedwithaslittleasa3%deficit).
SocioeconomicSituation Indatacollectedfrom1990to2014bytheNCES,theincomelevelofhouseholdswithstudentsbetweentheages16to24isdividedintofourquartiles:lowestquarterincomes,middlelowquarterincomes,middlehighquarterincomes,andhighestquarterincomes.Accordingtothisdata,thosewhosehouseholdincomeswereinthelowestquarterconsistentlyrepresentedthehighestpercentageofthosewhodroppedout.Essentially,whenfurtherevaluatingthesestatistics,astudentthatiswithinthelowestquartileis1.5timesmorelikelytodropoutthanastudentfromthemiddlelowquarter,2.5timesmorelikelythanastudentfromthemiddlehighquarter,and4timesmorelikelythanthehighestquarter.Thepast24yearshaveseenmanychangesinsocioeconomictrendsandpolicies,sotherecouldbemanyfactorsinfluencingthedeclineofdropoutratesbasedonincome;butthenumberseffectivelydemonstratethatsince1990incomehasplayedasignificantroleinimpactingthelikelihoodofachilddroppingfromschool.
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GradeLevel Sincethe1990s,dropoutratesbasedonthegradeofthestudenthavepolarizedimmensely.From1990to2014,thepercentageofdropoutsincreasedtremendouslyforthosewhohavebeeninschoolfor11or12years.AsFigure4shows,half(50%)ofalljuniorandseniorhighschoolstudentsareexpectedtodropout,asopposedtotheothergradelevels-nearlydecreasinganaverageof10%acrosstheboard.Theshockofthesestatisticalfiguresisthefactthatalltheothergradesdecreasedindropoutratesovertheyearsatasteadypace,while11or12yearstudents,instead,grewatanalarmingrateforthepast24years.
Furthermore,datastraightfromtheCaliforniaDepartmentofEducationDataReportingOfficeshowsastaggering55%ofstudentswhodropoutinCaliforniaarestudentswhoare12yearsintotheireducationalcareer.Forexample,inthe2014-2015schoolyear,theCaliforniaDOEreported32,97812thgradersdroppedoutofschool,outofthe53,804totalthatdroppedout,whichmeansthatabout61.3%ofthestudentsdroppingoutofhighschoolinCaliforniathatyearwereinthe12thgrade.Everyyearsince2004-2005,thedropoutrateratiofor12thgradershasbeenthishigh.It’salsonoteworthythatthedataresultsshowacombinationofanenormousamountof12thgradersdroppingoutontopofthegrowingratioof12thgraderstothetotaldropoutpopulation.Thisdemonstratesthateveryothergradeisdecreasingtheirdropoutratesmuchfasterthanthe12thgraders,whilethereislethargicmovementinthedropoutpopulationwith12thgraders.
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EthnicityandRacialBackground Anothercharacteristicinthedemographicsthathaveameasurableeffectondropoutratesistheethnicityandraceofthestudent.IntheU.S.,pertheNCES,theracialdemographicwiththehighestriskofdroppingoutofhighschoolarethoseofHispanicdescent,witha10.6%dropoutrateasof2014.Thisstatisticisputincomparisontothe7.4%ofBlackstudentsand5.2%ofwhitestudentswhodroppedoutin2014.ThedatacompiledbytheNCESshowsthat,since1992,whattheofficeconsiderstobe“Hispanic”hasbeenthehighestpercentageofdropouts:fluctuatingbetween20-30%.Thistrendendedin2007,whenthenumberofHispanicdropoutsbegantoslowlydissipate.Stayingconsistentwiththeotherreportedstats,evensince1992,thewhiteandBlackdropoutpercentageshadmaintainedapproximatelyathirdandhalf,respectively,ofthepercentageofdropoutHispanicstudents.IncomparingthisnationaldatawithCalifornia,wefindthatthestatisticsareslightlydifferentandethnicitiesareabitmorespecifiedanddefined.
CreatingthischartusingdatafromtheCaliforniaDOEDataReportingOffice,theadditionalethnicitiesandraceslistedare:AmericanIndian,TwoorMoreRaces,PacificIslander,andAsian.InCalifornia,thenumbersaresimilartonationalaveragesinthatwhitedropoutsareatamuchlowerdropoutpercentagewith7.4%ofwhitestudentsleavingschool.Incontrastwithnationaldata,thelargestdropoutpercentageinCaliforniaisAfricanAmericansandAmericanIndians.HispanicorLatinocomein3rdhighestforpercentage,butarethelargestinsheernumbersinCaliforniaforbothdropoutpopulationandstudentenrollmentpercentage.Thechartshowsthatthereisahiddendemographicthatisovershadowedbythesheernumbers,whichistheTwoorMoreRacesethnicdenomination.Thechartplainlyshowsthisdemographictobeinthehigherpercentagesinthetiersbelow15%,butthereisaninterestingriseintheiroverallpopulationinthereportednumbers.TheTwoorMoreRacesisnottheonlyethnicdemographicthathasbeenrisingatasteadyratesince2009-theHispanic/Latinostudentpopulationhasalsoshownsteadygrowth.Thereasonthatthesegrowthsareimportanttonoteisbecauseeveryotherdemographiconthelisthasshownasteadydeclineinoverallpopulationandstudentdropoutrates.Thepossiblereasoncouldbethatthecensusisbecomingmorespecificwiththeirdatacollection,somorepeoplearelistedasmultipleraces
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and/orHispanic,asboththeCaliforniaDOEandtheNCESconsistentlytrytoimprovetheirdatacollectionalgorithms.TheotherpossiblereasonisthattherearemoreimmigrantandinterracialfamiliesinCaliforniadueitspositionasacoastalstateandthestateculturebeingencouragingandwelcomingofmanyethniccommunities.Moreresearchanddataneedstobecollectedtoaffirmthesepossibleexplanationsofgrowth.Sex/Gender Inordertoseetrendsandbroaddatamovement,thedataconstitutesthoseofbinarygendersandsex.TheNCESandCaliforniaDOEshowacrosstheboardthatmaleshaveanaverage5%higherdropoutratethanfemales.Despitetheaverageratebeinghigherinmales,therearesomespikesinthedatathatshowthatthedropoutratesdifferbasedonthefactorswhichwillbedescribedinmoredetailbelow.Thesummationofthedataexplainsthatmalesaremoresusceptibletodroppingoutbasedonpushfactors,whilefemalesaremorelikelytodropoutduetopullfactors.Furthermore,thereisaneedtounderstandthatthepushfactorsaremorecloselyassociatedwithissuesinvolvingschool,whilepullfactorsaremorecenteredaroundpersonalissues.Thisrelationshipshowsthatitispossiblethatmalesdropoutmoreduetoschoolissueswhilefemalesdropoutduetopersonalissues.Moredatawillbeneededordertoaffirmthispossibility,butthecorrelationisthere.Who’satRisk? ThestatisticspaintaclearpictureofwhoisatthehighestriskofdroppingoutinCaliforniaandtheUnitedStates.Thestudentbasedonallthesemetricswhoisatthehighestriskofdroppingoutofhighschoolisalow-incomemalestudentwhoisin11thor12thgradethathasabackgroundofeitherbeingAmericanIndian,AfricanAmerican,orHispanicdependingthestate.Therearealotofassumptionsthatcanbemadeaboutthestudentincultural,social,andpersonalterms,butthenumbersarethereinordertoshowthatthereisastudentdemographicthatneedshelpandacloserlookisurgentinordertounderstandwhytheyareatthehighestrisk.
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CausesofDroppingOutInordertounderstandwhatcanbedonetoshiftawayfromthecurrentlyoccurringdropouts,onemust
lookatwhatJonathanJacobDollexplainsas“pull,push,andfallout”factors,inhisscholarlyarticlepublishedinSAGEonOctober2013.PerDoll,thereasonwhystudentsdropoutofschoolisduetooneoftheseoracombinationofthesepull,push,andfalloutfactors.Thissectionwillexplainanddiscuss,indetail,thefactorsforeach,themajorriskfactors,andtheimportanceinunderstandingwhytruancyanddropoutsoccur.
Toclarifytheimpactofthesefactors,itisnecessarytoexplainwhatthesepull,push,andfalloutfactorsarespecifically.AccordingtoDoll,thedifferencesliein“agency.”InPushfactors,theagentistheschoolwhilethestudentis“pushed”outasaresult.Theoppositeisthecasewithpullfactors,asthestudentistheagent,whodecidesto“pull”outofschoolinordertodealwithoutsideissues,suchasjobsorfamily.Lastly,falloutfactorshaveagencyinneithertheschoolorthestudent,andthecircumstancesthatexistcannotbe“remediated”orfixedbyeitherthestudentortheschool,thusthestudent“falls”outofschool.Pull,push,andfalloutfactorsmaybespecificallyaimedtowardsexplainingdropouts,butthatdoesnotdetractfromthestudyshowingthatthehighestreasonforastudentdroppingoutofschoolistruancy.InalongitudinalstudyconductedbyDaltonB.etalfrom2002–2006,missingover10%ofallschooldaysaccountsfor43.5%offormerstudentsdroppingoutofschool.Albeittheotherfactorscontributingtothecauses,thedatashowsthattruancyacrosstheboardwasthebiggestreasonforstudentsdroppingout,whichdemonstratestheundeniablerelationshipbetweentruancyanddropoutrates.Moreimportanttonote,thereasonsforstudentsmissingschoolordroppingoutis,often,acombinationofthepush,pull,andfalloutfactors.Asthefactors,suchasthefalloutfactorof“notbelonging”couldeasilyoverlapwiththepushfactorof“couldnotgetalongwithteachers,”thestudentscouldhavemultiplereasonsfornotgoingtoclassandcontributingcausalityisnotsimpleenoughtolimitastudenttoasinglecategory.Asdecisionsoropinionsareproposedinordertoaddressthesefactors,itisvitalthatstudentsarenotsoeasilycategorized-astheissueismorecomplexandnuancedthanitmayappear.
PushFactors PushfactorsarethefactorsthatcausethehighestoverallfrequencyofdropoutsasshowninthelongitudinalstudybyDalton.Exemplifyingthis,in200648.7%offormerstudentsaccountedtheirdropoutreasontopushfactors.Inthechartreproducedbelow,therearetenpushoutfactors–allofthemschoolrelated.Aspreviouslystated,pushfactorsaredefinedbytheiragencybeingattributedtoschool.Thus,thechartshowsthatstudentsmissingschool,thetoprankedpushfactor,aremissingtoomanyschooldaysduetosomethingthattheschoolcouldprobablyassistinremediating.Theotherpushfactorssuchasgettingpoorgrades,beingbehindinschoolwork,thinkingtheywereunabletocompleteassignments,andgettingalongwithteachersallhavesomesortofattributionthattheschoolcouldhavehelpedremedy.Thepushfactors,forthemostpart,areonaverageaffectingthemalestudentpopulationmorethanthefemalestudentpopulation,as53.1%werereportedtohavingusedpushoutfactorsastheirreasonfordroppingoutopposedtothefemale47.1%.PullFactors Pullfactorsdifferslightlyasthefactorsposeanemphasisoutsideoftherealmofschoolandtheagencyisattributedtothestudent.Asthechartshows,theonlypullfactorthatisschool-relatedisthesecondrankedreason,whichisthatthosestudentsthoughtitwouldbeeasiertogetaGED(asopposedtotraditionalgraduation).Itwasanactivechoicethatthestudentmadetodropout,duetothatpreconceivednotionofaGEDbeingeasier,sotheonlyroleschoolcouldhaveplayedwouldhavebeenmakingschooleasieroreducatingthestudentinwhatstrivingtogetaGEDactuallyentails.TherestofthepullfactorsarelistedunderFamily-relatedreasonsandEmployment-relatedreasons,asthesearetheoutside,non-schoolrelated,influencespresentinastudent’slife.Thestatisticstopayattentiontoarethoseforfemalesonfamily-relatedreasonsandmalesonemployment-relatedreasons,astheyare,respectively,thehigherpercentageineachcategory.Thetopfamily-relatedreasonwasattributedtofemalepregnancywitha27.8%,whichgoestoshowthataboutafourthofthetimethereasonthatafemalestudentdroppedoutwasbecauseshegotpregnant,andtheothertopfamilyrelated
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reasonofsupportingafamilycanbeafollow-uptothepregnancy.Intermsoftheemployment-relatedreasons,thereareonlytwo,whicharetheacquisitionofajobortheinabilitytomaintainworkingandschooling.Forbothfactors,themalesaretheoneswiththehigherpercentages,asgettingajobaccountedforathirdofthemalesat33.5%.Despitethesehighnumberformalesintheemploymentcategory,thefemalesaremorelikelytodropoutduetopulloutfactorsthanthemalesare,with40.0%versusthemale30.4%.
FallFactors Thefactorswiththeleastprominence,butnonethelessthehardesttosolve,arethefallfactors,whichonlytotalinthree.Thefallfactorsareallschool-related,buttheyarefactorsthatneitherthestudentnortheschoolcanactivelyfix.Thefactorsareaslisted:“Didnotlikeschool,”“Didnotfeeltheybelongedthere,”and“Changedschoolsanddidnotlikenewone.”Asseenfromtheshortreasons,theredoesnotseemtobeawaytoactuallyhelpalleviatethesefalloutfactors.Interestinglyenough,areportpublishedin2006byJohnM.Bridgeland,TheSilentEpidemic,actuallyfoundthatabout47%ofstudentswhodroppedoutthoughtthatschoolwasboring.AsthisisthemostsimilartoafallfactorasdefinedbyDoll,itisinterestingthatwhatwasconsideredtobetheleastimpactinginonestudy,isoneofthemostidentifyingreasonsforstudentdropoutsinanotherstudy.Regardless,thereportsreferencedherealllistpossibilitiesthatmayhelpstudentengagement,butattheendoftheday,it’shardtofixanythingifboththeschoolandthestudentscannotfindthecommonground.
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Conclusion Studentsaredroppingoutofschoolformanyreasons;thesereasonscouldbeduetofamily,school,orotheroutsideinfluences.Assuch,therewasaneedtoobservethedatafromamacrostandpointtoseewhichcharacteristicswereinneedofmoreattention.Thedatacollectedineachofthesourcesallpointtoasimilardescription,malestudents,lowincomestudents,studentswithanethnicbackgroundofAfricanAmerican,AmericanIndian,orHispanic/Latino,andthosestudentswhoareclosetofinishingschoolin11thor12thgrade.Thestudents’futuresarenotjustinthehandsofthoseinschoolandthestudentsthemselves,thefactorsseemtomissthefactthatstudentsareinfluencedbythepeoplearoundthemandthepoliciesthatareputinplace.Schoolcanbemademoreinteresting,learningcanbemadefun,anddroppingoutofschoolcanbereducedoreveneliminated,allittakesissimplyaddingvaluetotheseitems.AsreportedbybothDollandBridgeland,studentsimmediatelyregretdroppingoutofschoolassoonastheyrealizetheimplicationsthatitcausesthemlaterinlife.Whatdoesittaketoconvincestudentsthatdroppingoutisn’ttheway?
SourcesBridgeland, John M., DiIulio, John J., & Morison, Karen B. (March 2006). "The Silent Epidemic Perspectives of High School Dropouts." Http://www.gatesfoundation.org. California Department of Education. (2017).DataQuest. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ Doll, J. J., Eslami, Z., & Walters, L. (2013). “Understanding Why Students Drop Out of High School, According to Their Own Reports.” SAGE Open, 3 Jordan, J. L., Kostandini, G., & Mykerezi, E. (2012). Rural and urban high school dropout rates: Are they different? Journal of Research in Rural Education, 27(12), 1-21. U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
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