Dropout Definition, Data Collection, and Methodology

Dropout information is collected from the school districts after the end of each school year. School districts report the number of dropouts through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS); instructions for identification of dropouts are included in the PEIMS Data Standards (TEA, 1996). Dropout information is collected for Grades 7-12. A student is identified as a dropout if the individual is absent without an approved excuse or documented transfer and does not return to school by the fall of the following school year, or if he or she completes the school year but fails to reenroll the following school year.

Students in the following categories are identified as dropouts.

• Students who drop out as defined above
• Students who enter the military before graduation
• Students from special education, ungraded, or alternative education programs who leave school
• Students who leave school and enter a program not qualifying as an elementary/secondary school (e.g., cosmetology school)
• Students enrolled as migrants and whose whereabouts are unknown

Students in the following categories are not included in the dropout count.

• Students who die
• Students who drop out as defined above, before the seventh grade
• Students who are out of school for temporary periods with an approved excuse
• Students showing regular attendance at a state-approved alternative program
• Students enrolled as migrants who have a subsequent school enrollment record (i.e., a Migrant Student Record Transfer System Education Record is available)
• Students known to have transferred to another public school, adult or alternative education program, or home schooling
• Students who move to another grade level
• Students who enroll in college early
• Students transferred or assigned to another public institution or state-approved educational program
• Foreign students who return to their home country

Dropout Data Recovery

In 1990-91, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) began an automated statewide recovery of reported dropouts. The dropout recovery process removes dropouts from the number submitted by school districts if the reported dropouts:

1. have remained enrolled in public school somewhere in the state, according to the school district attendance and enrollment information provided through PEIMS;
2. have received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate and appear on the GED information file at the time the recovery procedures are executed;
3. have graduated within the last year;
4. were expelled for criminal behavior occurring on school property or at school related functions and were incarcerated;
5. were identified as a dropout at any time back to the 1990-91 school year. A student will be counted only once as a dropout in his or her lifetime, even if the student drops out repeatedly in the future. First-time dropout identification applies to dropouts reported since the 1990-91 school year, the first year that student identification data were collected along with the dropout record;
6. met all graduation requirements but did not pass the exit-level Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test; or
7. withdrew to return to their home country.

In 1995-96 the dropout data recovery process was expanded to include students who:

8. were attending approved alternative education programs; or
9. withdrew to attend college.

In 1995-96 the data recovery process identified 15,845 students who were not included in the final dropout count.

Annual (or Cross-Sectional) Dropout Rate

The current dropout rate is calculated by dividing the number of dropouts by cumulative enrollment in Grades 7-12. Cumulative enrollment is the count of all students reported in attendance during any six-week reporting period. If students enroll on several campuses during a school year, they are counted in attendance at every campus on which they are enrolled. However, when aggregating dropout information, the student is only counted once at the campus, district, county, region, and state level. Cumulative enrollment more closely parallels the number of dropouts counted for that entire school year. Although this rate is less comparable to the dropout rates reported before 1992-93, it provides a more accurate reflection of the dropout situation and more uniform data for comparison between districts and campuses.

Estimated Longitudinal Dropout Rate

The estimated longitudinal rate is calculated by subtracting the annual rate as a percentage of 1.0 and raising the resulting retention rate to the sixth power. The retention rate is then subtracted from 1.0 for the final estimated longitudinal dropout rate.

Projected Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Dropout Rates

Projected dropout rates by grade level are calculated by taking the population for each grade level and each ethnic group within grade level and incrementing the grade level for each projected year. That is, the first step in determining the 1996-97 rate is to represent all students who were in Grades 6-11 in 1995-96 and who progressed to the next grade level in 1996-97. The 1995-96 dropout rate is then applied to each grade level to give the projected rate for 1996-97. This is determined for each cohort through the year 2001-02. The dropout rates by grade and ethnicity remain constant, and a new grade-level dropout rate is calculated. This calculation is based on the assumption that current dropout rates will remain constant.