The dropout rate among certain ethnic minorities has been and remains
significantly higher than the overall dropout rate. The annual dropout rate
of Hispanic students for the 1994-95 school year is 2.7 percent. African
American students have a 2.3 percent annual dropout rate. Although these
rates have declined from 1993-94, these groups continue to have the highest
rates among all ethnic groups. (For historical dropout information refer
to Appendix A.) All other student groups have a dropout rate that is lower
than the state overall rate.
The longitudinal dropout rates for Hispanic and African American students
are also higher than other groups. The longitudinal rate for Hispanic students
is 15.0 percent while the rate for African American students is 12.8 percent.
Achieving a longitudinal rate of 5 percent is still a significant challenge
for these groups of students. Despite the high dropout rates, the total
number of dropouts has declined among all ethnic groups. The dropout rates
by gender also are presented in Table 2. The male dropout rate of 2.0 percent
is slightly higher than that of females (1.7 percent).
Table 2 also shows the dropout rates by grade for the 1994-95 school year.
In 1994-95 the highest dropout rate was found in the 9th grade, with 2.8
percent. In 1993-94, the highest dropout rate occurred at the 12th grade,
with 4.0 percent. This year, because of methodological changes (students
dropping out after meeting all graduation requirements but failing exit-level
TAAS are now removed from the dropout count), the dropout rate for 12th
grade came down to 2.3 percent, representing the lowest rate for high school
grades. The 9th grade dropout rate is the highest rate among Hispanics and
African Americans. The highest dropout rates for Whites is found in the
12th grade.