New Study Uncovers Hidden Dropout Crisis

WASHINGTON

A new study shows that the nation's high school dropout rate may be as high as 30 percent, almost three times higher than government estimates.

The study commissioned by The Business Roundtable (BRT) and conducted by the Center for Labor Market Studies (CLMS) at Northeastern University, revealed that 25 percent to 30 percent of students in America do not graduate with a high school diploma. The study also shows that males are 20 percent to 30 percent more likely to drop out of school than females, contributing to the increasing gender gap at colleges and universities. Dropout rates also vary greatly by location and racial or ethnic background.

Vermont, Connecticut, Nebraska, Minnesota and North Dakota are the five states with the highest graduation rates as a proportion of the 18-year-old population in those states. Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana are the five states with the lowest graduation states for that age.

The U.S. Department of Education puts the national dropout rate at 11 percent. The department's dropout rate estimates are considerably lower than those uncovered in the CLMS study. According to the study, the methods used by the government to collect and analyze data on the dropout rate are substantially biased downward for the following reasons:

• The U.S. Department of Education has to rely on less accurate data sources to generate the national dropout rate because each year 14 or more states do not report their state dropout rates using common definitions and data collection standards.

• Individuals with a GED certificate are counted as high school graduates, though they did not receive a regular high school diploma.

• Students who become incarcerated are not counted, though many are dropouts.

• Poor and minority teens are not always counted in household surveys because they may have transient living conditions and/or employment status.