Root Causes: High School Graduation

Why is this Trend Important?

• More students fail 9^th grade than any other grade.
• Most are held back, creating a “9^th grade bulge,” but then drop out by 10^th grade, contributing to the “10^th grade dip.” 
• In cities with the highest dropout rates, of the 40 percent of 9^th graders who repeat the 9^th grade, only 10 to 15 percent continue on to graduate.
• Racial disparities in 9^th to 10^th grade attrition are pronounced, particularly for African American and Latino students. [1]    

What are the Forces and Influences at Work?

• Racial, Ethnic, Socioeconomic, Gender and Geographic Disparities.  Over 75 percent of white and Asian students graduate, while only 56 percent of Latinos, 54 percent African Americans and 51 percent of Native Americans graduate.  The graduation rate for males is seven percent lower than for females; for males from historically disadvantaged minority groups, the rate is only 50 percent.[2]  While 74 percent of students in suburban districts graduate, only 60 percent of students in urban districts graduate. In high-poverty and racially or socioeconomically segregated districts, graduation rates are 20 percent lower than in districts with a majority of white students, low racial segregation, low poverty levels or low economic segregation.[3]  Across states, disparities are also significant. A gap of 42 percentage points separates the states with the highest and lowest high school graduation rates. The top five states each graduate more than 80 percent of their high school students, while the bottom three states graduate fewer than 55 percent.

• Dropout Factories.  Of the roughly 11,000 school districts in America, the 25 districts with the highest numbers of dropouts account for one in every five non-graduates nationwide. These districts are a combination of urban and large county school systems.  Research shows that the two most significant factors at play are the district’s size and its effectiveness in providing a high-quality high school education.   Almost half of the nation’s African-American students and nearly 40 percent of Latino students attend “dropout factories” where the number of seniors is routinely 60 percent or less than the number of freshmen four years earlier.  In comparison, only 11 percent of white students attend these schools.[4]

• Financing Inequity.   The nation’s tradition of locally controlled education contributes to stark inequities in district level funding in many schools. State and federal resources attempt to close this gap, but differences remain. For example, a study of high schools in New York with predominately minority student bodies found that the schools in the affluent suburbs spent an average of $4,500 more per student than did the urban high schools in New York City. In fact, even the lowest-spending suburban district outspent the average per pupil amount spent in the urban schools.

• Difficult Transitions into High School. More students fail 9^th grade than any other grade, most often because they lack of intermediate academic skills, have weak reading skills and have underdeveloped mathematical knowledge.[5]  However, other factors, including social and environmental experiences, matter as well. Research shows that during the transition to high school many students become increasingly disengaged and their motivation declines. Compared to their middle school experiences, 9^th graders perceive less support and monitoring from teachers and principals, generally enjoy school less, and report being less involved in school activities. They also indicate lower self-esteem and higher rates of depression than middle school students.