High School Dropouts

1. High School Dropouts Ana Cerda Mr. Ochoa 5th Period

2. What Is a High School Dropout? • Dropping out is defined as leaving school without a high school diploma or equivalent credential such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics. Most commonly, dropping out refers to a students quitting school before he or she graduates or avoiding entering a university. Each year, more than a million kids will leave school without earning a high school diploma -- that's approximately 7,000 students every day of the academic year.

3. Characteristics of a dropout Disabled students. Students with disabilities are also more likely to drop out. The National Transition Study estimates that as many as 36.4% of disabled youth drop out of school before completing a diploma or certificate. A history of academic failure. Students who drop out may have a history of poor academic achievement going back as far as third grade . On average, they have less effective reading and study skills, earn lower grades, obtain lower achievement test scores, and are more likely to have repeated a grade level than their classmates who graduate. Emotional and behavioral problems. Potential dropouts tend to have lower self-esteem than their more successful classmates have. They also are more apt to create discipline problems in class, use drugs, and engage in criminal activities

4. Causes of Dropping Out • Socioeconomic Background. National data show that students from low-income families are 2.4 times more likely to drop out of school than are children from middle-income families, and 10.5 times more likely than students from high-income families. • Absenteeism. Students who have poor attendance for reasons other than illness are also more likely to drop out. Clearly, students who miss school fall behind their peers in the classroom. This, in turn, leads to low self-esteem and increases the likelihood that at-risk students will drop out of school. • Race-ethnicity. Hispanics and African Americans are at greater risk of dropping out than whites. Hispanics are twice as likely as African Americans to drop out. White and Asian American students are least likely to drop out.

5. Bullying a Major Cause of Dropouts? • Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year. • When children don’t feel safe, they start to skip school and eventually they drop out. The U.S Secretary of Education says, “A school where children don’t feel safe is a school where children struggle to learn. It is a school where kids drop out, tune out, and get depressed. Not just violence but bullying, verbal harassment, substance abuse, cyber bullying, and disruptive classrooms all interfere with a student’s ability to learn.” Bullying can lead to fear of school, absenteeism, and stunted academic progress, which in turn are signs to dropping out of school.

6. Disadvantages of Being a Dropout • Income Loss. A high school drop out will earn about $375,000 less over his or her lifetime than an individual with a diploma. Median earnings for families of high school dropouts were 30 percent lower in 2004 than in 1974. Additionally, most employers require a high school diploma credential in order to be considered for employment -- making it even more difficult for dropouts to earn an income. Also, drop outs may not have access to wealth producing assets such as retirement pensions which employers often offer as a benefit. • Lack of Access to Higher Education. Without a high school diploma, a person will have a difficult time gaining access to financial aid from colleges or trade schools. In fact, most universities and trade schools require students to have a diploma before they are accepted into a program. A student who lacks a high school diploma faces a huge hurdle because it's difficult to gain access to the advanced skills and training higher education offers, along with the accompanying increase in income, without one • Poor Health Outcomes. Due to low income and job insecurity, high school dropouts face poorer health outcomes. Dropouts are less likely to receive job-based health insurance. • Increased Likelihood of Legal Trouble. The increased likelihood of poverty, along with the decreased access to higher education and career opportunities makes high school dropouts susceptible to crime and possibly substance abuse. The Education Testing Service reports that each high school dropout who turns to drugs or crime costs the country between $1.7 million to 2.3 million over a person's lifetime. Additionally, according to the same article, 40 percent of all incarcerated 16 to 24-year-olds in the United States are high school drop outs

7. Rio Grande Valley Drop Out Statistics • In the Valley, the dominant ethnicity is Hispanics with 89.6 of the people being Hispanics, leading to the dropout rate of Hispanics at least 67% as to in Killeen, Texas, the average of Hispanics is 17,4% making the Hispanic dropout rate 7.7% study shows that race and ethnicity is one of the main causes of dropping out • 1 in 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying. • McAllen Memorial High school had 467 dropouts in the last year, 51.6 percent of the dropouts were because of bullying, according to the Texas Education Agency. • The Texas drop out average is 41,813 students per year. PSJA High School had 500 dropouts the past year. PSJA is just one of the 57 high schools in the Valley. Meaning there is about 28,500 dropouts in the valley per year. It can be inferred that about 60% of Texas’ dropouts are from the Rio Grande Vall

8. Consequences • On average, dropouts are more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates and to earn less money when they eventually secure work. Employed dropouts in a variety of studies reported working at unskilled jobs or at low-paying service occupations offering little opportunity for upward mobility. • Dropping out, in turn, causes other secondary, indirect problems: Single Parents. Due to the fact that young women who drop out of school are more likely to have children at younger ages and more likely to be single parents than high school graduates. Prisons. dropouts make up a high percentage of the nation’s prisons and death row inmates. One research study pointed out that 82% of America’s prisoners are high school dropouts.

9. Possible Outlets Many students drop out of high school because they are not aware of the benefits their school has. Most drop out today were not enrolled in any extracurricular activities, thus not having a reason to continue high school. Some possible outlets to prevent students from dropping out are: • Participating in athletics • Become part of a social group in school for example, UIL, dance, or robotics. • Find a mentor • Help the community by doing community service.

10. Prevention • Engage and Partner with Parents Parent involvement declines as students get older and become more independent. • Cultivate Relationships A concerned teacher or trusted adult can make the difference between a student's staying in school or dropping out. That's why secondary schools around the country are implementing advisories -- small groups of students that come together with a faculty member to create an in-school family of sorts • Pay Attention to Warning Signs Indicators among eighth graders were a failing final grade in English or math and being absent for more than 20 percent of school days. Among ninth graders, poor attendance, earning fewer than two credits during 9th grade, and/or not being promoted to 10th grade on time were all factors that put students at significantly higher risk of not graduating, and were key predictors of dropping out