Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates

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According to a new NCES report, approximately 3 million 16- through 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential as of October 2008. These dropouts represented 8 percent of the 38 million noninstitutionalized, civilian individuals in this age group living in the United States, according to Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2009.

The report updates a series of NCES reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. The report includes national and regional population estimates for the percentage of students who dropped out of high school between 2008 and 2009, the percentage of young people who were dropouts in 2009, and the percentage of young people who were not in high school and had some form of high school credential in 2009. Data are presented by a number of characteristics including race/ethnicity, sex, and age. Annual data for these population estimates are provided for the 1972-2009 period. Information about the high school class of 2009 is also presented in the form of on-time graduation rates from public high schools. Other findings include:

• The percentage of 16- through 24-year olds who were not enrolled in high school and who lacked a high school credential varied by race and ethnicity in 2009. The rate for Hispanics (17.6 percent) was the highest followed by the rate for Blacks (9.3 percent). Rates for Whites (5.2 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (3.4 percent) were the lowest among racial/ethnic groups.

• Considering 18- through 24-year-olds in the civilian-noninstitutionalized population who are no longer in high school, approximately 89.8 percent held some form of high school credential in October 2009. Credentials include regular diplomas and alternative credentials such as the General Education Development (GED) certificate.

• Of first-time freshmen in public schools four years earlier, 75.5 percent had graduated with a regular diploma by the end of the 2008-09 school year. The lowest state-level rate was 56.3 percent and the highest was 90.7 percent.