ED398351 UD031282
Title: Dropout Rates in the United States: 1994.
Author(s): McMillen, Marilyn M.; Kaufman, Phillip
Author Affiliation: MPR Associates, Berkeley, CA.(BBB21249)
Pages: 146
Publication Date: 1996
Sponsoring Agency: National Center for Education Statistics (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00004)
Report No: NCES-96-863
ISBN: 0-16-048717-X
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC06 Plus Postage.
Language: English
Document Type: Book (010)
Geographic Source: U.S.; District of Columbia
Journal Announcement: RIEDEC1996
Government Level: Federal
This report, which is the seventh in a series, presents data from 1994 on high school dropout and retention rates and examines high school graduation and completion rates. Included is an analysis of the 1994 high school completion status and subsequent life activities of members of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 cohort of eighth graders. Time series data for the period from 1972 to 1994 are also included. The best and most current national data available were used to compile the report, including the Current Population Survey (CPS) of the Bureau of the Census. Data show that dropout rates have generally decreased over the last two decades, while completion rates have increased. In 1972, data from the CPS indicated that, of young adults under age 25, 6% dropped out of school that year, over 14% were dropouts, and about 83% of young adults aged 18 to 24 had completed high school with either a regular diploma or an equivalency certificate. In 1993, only about 5% dropped out, 11% were dropouts, and over 86% completed high school. Other findings of this report show that: close to one-half million students age 15-24 left school between October 1993 and October 1994; in October 1994 there were 3.7 million 16-24-year-olds who had not completed high school and were not enrolled in school; and in general, minority students were more likely than white students to have dropped out. Dropout rates were also higher for low income students and students in the Southern and Western regions of the country. Three appendixes contain standard error and time series tables, technical noted, and supplemental tables. (Contains 6 figures, 38 tables, 47 tables in Appendix A, 3 in Appendix B, and 12 in Appendix C.) (SLD)
Descriptors: *Academic Persistence; Cohort Analysis; Dropout Characteristics; *Dropout Rate; Dropouts; *Educational Attainment; Grade 8; High School Equivalency Programs; *High School Graduates; High School Students; High Schools; Junior High School Students; Junior High Schools; *School Holding Power; Urban Schools
Identifiers: Current Population Survey; *National Education Longitudinal Study 1988; Time Series Analysis
