Characteristics of Dropouts
Many factors have been shown to be related to students' dropping out of
school. Basic demographic characteristics, family and personal background,
a student's academic history, and characteristics of the student's school
all may influence whether or not a student will stay in school. Texas dropout
information provides total numbers of dropouts by student characteristics
for the last three years.
As Table 3 indicates, the percentage of Grade 7-12 enrollment and the percentage
of total dropouts identified as economically disadvantaged have increased
slightly from 1993-94. Although the 1994-95 dropout rate for economically
disadvantaged students is slightly higher than the overall state rate, the
dropout rate for that group continued to decrease from 1993-94.
School districts are required to identify students in Grades 7 - 12 as
at risk of school failure or of dropping out (TEC Section 29.081). A student
is defined as at risk if the student:
- 1. was retained at least once in Grades 1- 6 and is still unable to
master the current
grade level;
- 2. is at least two years below grade level in reading or mathematics;
- 3. has failed at least two courses and is not expected to graduate
within four years
- of ninth grade entrance;
- 4. has failed at least one section of the most recent Texas Assessment
of Academic
- Skills (TAAS) exam; or
- 5. is pregnant or is a parent.
These indicators focus on a student's academic history and do not identify
those students at risk due to family and personal background or school-related
characteristics. Districts may consider environmental, familial, economic,
social, developmental, and other psycho-social factors in addition to the
state criteria. As applied by school districts, the state and local criteria
result in 40.5 percent of students in Grades 7-12 being identified as at
risk. Yet, only 43.5 percent of 1994-95 dropouts were identified as at risk
of dropping out during the year they dropped out of school. This is a decrease
from the percentage identified in 1993-94. Of students who graduated in
1994-95, 33.9 percent were identified as at risk of dropping out.
Currently, an accurate measure of the academic achievement of dropouts is
not available. However, information on the number of dropouts identified
as overage for grade can be shown. It is safe to assume that generally students
who are not on the grade level for their age group have been retained in
at least one grade before dropping out. In 1994-95, 76.4 percent of dropouts
were overage for grade compared to 33.0 percent of all Grade 7-12 students.
The age level of dropouts for 1994-95 ranged from 11 to 22 years old, with
over 75 percent of the dropouts leaving at age 16 or older.
Table 4 presents the number of dropouts receiving various educational
services during the year they dropped out of school. As Table 4 shows, 11.8
percent of students enrolled in Grades 7-12 received special education services,
but 14.2 percent of dropouts received special education services in 1994-95.
The percent of dropouts receiving special education services during the
year they dropped out continues to increase each year.
To meet the unique needs of students with diverse linguistic, cultural,
and educational backgrounds, programs for students with limited English
proficiency (LEP) have been established. As indicated on Table 4, the percentage
of dropouts in these programs increased in 1993-94 and then decreased in
1994-95. Eight percent of dropouts received bilingual/ESL services in 1994-95
compared to over nine percent in 1993-94. The percentage of all students
in bilingual/ESL programs remained about the same.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) developed a standard
national course classification system for elementary and secondary education
(Bradby, Levesque, Henke, & Malitz, 1993). The structure of this system
divides courses into academic courses and vocational education courses.
In 1994-95, 32.4 percent of Texas dropouts were enrolled in vocational education
courses the year they dropped out of school. Both the percentage of all
students and all dropouts enrolled in vocational education courses increased
since 1993-94.
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