STUDENTS’ SOCIAL BACKGROUND (Rumberger, 2004)

STUDENTS’ SOCIAL BACKGROUND (Rumberger, 2004)

Students who are poor, who are members of minority groups, who are male, who transferred among multiple elementary and middle schools, and who are overage for their grade are more likely to drop out of high school. Students who come from single parent families, have a mother who dropped out of high school, have parents who provide low support for learning, or have parents who do not know their friends’ parents well are also placed at greater risk. Finally, studies have suggested that teenagers who take on adult responsibilities –becoming a parent, getting married, and holding down a job– are also more likely to leave school without a diploma.

STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES (Jordan, et. al., 1999)

1) Academic performance: Students who struggle in the classroom and fall behind academically are more likely to drop out. Low grades, low test scores, Fs in English and math, falling behind in course credits, and being held back one or more times have all been linked to lower chances for graduation.
2) Educational engagement: Students who become disengaged from school and develop disciplinary problems are more likely to drop out. High rates of absenteeism or truancy, poor classroom behavior, less participation in extracurricular activities, and poor relationships with teachers and peers all have been linked to lower chances for graduation. The more students are “engaged” in school, the more “academically resilient” they become and the more likely they will be to remain in school through graduation.

SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS (Croninger, 2001)

Several recent studies have found that, student risk factors being equal, high schools with smaller enrollments, better interpersonal relationships among students and adults, teachers who are more supportive of students, and a curriculum that is both more focused and more rigorous exhibit lower dropout rates. Plus — the benefits are especially great for low-achieving, low-income students.

RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS

While there is no single pathway that every dropout follows, there are common patterns, common crisis spots in the pipeline and common signposts, too.

Longitudinal studies consistently identify a specific set of general educational risk factors as highly predictive of dropping out. The transition to middle school and high school is a critically important time for students. Many dropouts begin to show warning signs and downward trends in 6th grade or 9th grade. Transition-year failure often begins very early, and powerful risk factors can be observed even during the first month of school. Students with poor prior achievement and behavior are more likely to fail during transition years. School factors independently influence whether incoming freshmen will graduate from high school or fall off track on the way to a diploma.

Croninger, R.G. & Lee, V.E. (2001). “Social Capital and Dropping Out of HighSchool: Benefits to At-Risk Students of Teachers’ Support and Guidance.” Teachers College Record, 103, 548–581.

See also Lee, V.E. & Burkham, D.T. (2000). Dropping Out of High School: The Role of School Organization and Structure. Paper presented for the conference Dropouts in America: How Severe Is the Problem? What Do We Know about Intervention and Prevention? Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, January 13, 2001.

Jordon, W.J., Lara, J., & McPartland, J.M. (1999). “Rethinking the Cause of High School Dropout.” The Prevention Researcher, 6, 1–4.

Rumberger, R.W. (2004). “Why Students Drop Out of School.” In Orfield, G. (Ed.), Dropouts in America: Confronting the Graduation Rate Crisis (pp. 131–156). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.