Subsequent Educational Attainment Of High School Dropouts

This study uses data from the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study and its 1994 followup to examine the educational and employment attainment of 1988 eighth graders who dropped out of high school. About half of them ultimately completed high school. By 1994, 16% had completed a high school diploma, 29% had completed a General Educational Development (GED) or equivalency certificate, and 24% were working on a diploma or GED. The remaining one-third of dropouts had no credential and were not pursuing any further education. High school completion among dropouts was associated with socioeconomic status. Dropouts who had demonstrated academic ability, although not necessarily academic performance, were most likely to complete high school. By 1994, 2 years after most of the"cohort" had completed high school, high school completion among dropouts was associated with some educational, but few employment, characteristics. In 1994, most dropouts were either working, looking for work, or at home. About the same proportion of dropouts as 1988 eighth graders who had never dropped out reported working full time or part time in 1994, but those who had never dropped out were more likely to be taking academic courses. More than half of those who had never dropped out were enrolled in 2-year or 4-year postsecondary institutions. About one in four dropouts had enrolled in a postsecondary institution by 1994. One appendix is a glossary, and the other contains technical notes and remarks on methodology. (Contains 19 tables, 7 figures, and 12 references.) (SLD)

High school graduation and dropout rates have long been used as indicators of educational system productivity and effectiveness and of social and economic well being. While determining these rates may seem like a straightforward task, their calculation is in fact quite complicated. How does one count a student who leaves a regular high school but later completes a GED? How does one count a student who spends most of his/her high school years at one school and then transfers to another? If the student graduates, which school should receive credit? If the student drops out, which school should take responsibility? High School Dropout, Graduation, and Completion Rates addresses these issues and to examine (1) the strengths, limitations, accuracy, and utility of the available dropout and completion measures; (2) the state of the art with respect to longitudinal data systems; and (3) ways that dropout and completion rates can be used to improve policy and practice.

The vast majority of kids in the developed world finish high school—but not in the United States. More than a million kids drop out every year, around 7,000 a day, and the numbers are rising. Dropping Out offers a comprehensive overview by one of the country’s leading experts, and provides answers to fundamental questions: Who drops out, and why? What happens to them when they do? How can we prevent at-risk kids from short-circuiting their futures? Students start disengaging long before they get to high school, and the consequences are severe—not just for individuals but for the larger society and economy. Dropouts never catch up with high school graduates on any measure. They are less likely to find work at all, and more likely to live in poverty, commit crimes, and suffer health problems. Even life expectancy for dropouts is shorter by seven years than for those who earn a diploma. Rumberger advocates targeting the most vulnerable students as far back as the early elementary grades. And he levels sharp criticism at the conventional definition of success as readiness for college. He argues that high schools must offer all students what they need to succeed in the workplace and independent adult life. A more flexible and practical definition of achievement—one in which a high school education does not simply qualify you for more school—can make school make sense to young people. And maybe keep them there.

Abstract: The objective of this study is to describe, using national survey data, how many dropouts attempt to change the course of their lives by returning to complete their diploma requirements, what kinds of dropouts return and complete their requirements, and how the subsequent activities of those dropouts who returned to complete the diploma requirements differ from those of dropouts who remained out of school. This paper reports new findings from a recent follow-up survey of high school sophomores which indicate that a substantial proportion of high school dropouts return to complete their diploma requirements.