• By Roy L. Johnson, M.S.  • IDRA Newsletter • October 2009

Roy L. Johnson, M.A.In July 2009, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released its third dropout and school completion report using the dropout definition and calculation methods mandated by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The report entitled, Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools 2007-08, shows that the number of school dropouts reported by TEA for grades seven through 12 declined from 55,306 in 2006-07 to 45,796 in 2007-08, a decrease of 17.2 percent (see table). The annual dropout rate declined from 2.7 percent in 2006-07 to 2.2 in 2007-08, a decrease of 18.5 percent. The attrition rate for the class of 2008 (grades 9-12) was 28.6 percent compared to an attrition rate of 30.0 percent for the class of 2007.

The NCES definition mandated by the 78th Texas Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 186 in 2003 has had a dramatic impact on the dropout count and dropout rate reported by TEA. According to TEA, dropout and school completion rates using the national dropout definition adopted in 2005-06 are not comparable with rates from prior years. Since the adoption, both the dropout count and the dropout rate are about three times higher than those under the previous definition and calculations.

When the NCES dropout definition was used, the total number of dropouts reported by TEA increased from 18,290 in 2004-05 to 51,841 in 2005-06 and to 55,306 in 2006-07, but declined to 45,796 in 2007-08. From 2004-05 to 2007-08, the number of dropouts increased by 27,506 students or by 150 percent. The dropout count was 2.50 times higher in 2007-08 than in 2004-05, and the dropout rate in 2007-08 was 2.4 times higher than in 2004-05.

Of the 45,796 dropouts in the latest report, 1,988 were in grades seven and eight, and 43,808 were in grades nine through 12. The reported seventh through eighth grade dropout rate was 0.3 percent, while the ninth through 12th grade dropout rate was 3.2 percent. The annual dropout rates for African American and Hispanic students in grades nine through 12 were much higher than the rates for White students. The rate for African American and Hispanic students was three times higher. The reported 2007-08 dropout rate for African American students was 3.33 times higher than that of White students, and the rate for Hispanic students was 2.93 times higher than the rate for White students.

IDRA continues its call for restructuring of the state dropout reporting system to one that provides accurate and understandable information on which schools and communities can make good decisions about improving school holding power. Historical information on the impact of the use of the national dropout definition should be reported as part of the state’s annual reporting of dropout and school completion data. State and local education officials must acknowledge that Texas’ old ways of counting the number of dropouts was not meeting the national “smell” test and that restructuring dropout and school completion methods must be taken.

Texas Annual Dropout Rates – High School,
Report by the Texas Education Agency

School Year Dropouts Students Annual Dropout Rate (%) by Group, Grades 9-12
African American Hispanic White Other Total

1994-95

26,499

1,058,191

3.3

3.6

1.6

1.5

2.5

1995-96

24,574

1,085,859

2.8

3.2

1.4

1.2

2.2

1996-97

24,414

1,124,991

2.9

3.1

1.3

1.4

2.2

1997-98

24,886

1,145,910

3.3

3.1

1.2

1.2

2.2

1998-99

27,592

1,773,117

2.3

2.3

0.8

0.9

1.6

1999-00

21,439

1,163,883

2.6

2.7

1.0

1.0

1.8

2000-01

16,003

1,180,252

1.8

2.0

0.8

0.7

1.4

2001-02

15,117

1,202,108

1.8

1.9

0.6

0.7

1.3

2002-03

15,665

1,230,483

1.7

1.9

0.6

0.6

1.3

2003-04

15,160

1,252,016

1.4

1.9

0.6

0.6

1.2

2004-05

17,056

1,273,950

1.7

2.0

0.7

0.6

1.3

2005-06*

48,803

1,317,993

5.4

5.2

1.8

1.5

3.7

2006-07* 52,418 1,333,837 5.8 5.4 1.9 1.5 3.9
2007-08* 43,808 1,350,921 5.0 4.4 1.5 1.2 3.2

*The 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 dropout rate was calculated using the National Center for Education Statistics dropout definition. Using the NCES definition, a dropout is defined as “a student who is enrolled in public school in grades 7-12, does not return to public school the following fall, is not expelled, and does not graduate, receive a General Education Development (GED) certificate, continue school outside the public school system, begin college, or die.” In order to implement the legislative requirements for the computation of dropout rates, TEA had to make changes in some dates affecting dropout status and some changes in groups of students who had not been considered dropouts previously.

Source: Texas Education Agency, Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools 2004-05. Texas Education Agency, Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools 2007-08.

Texas Annual Dropout Rates – Middle and High School,
Reported by the Texas Education Agency

School Year Dropouts Students Annual Dropout Rate (%) by Group, Grades 7-12
African American Hispanic White Other Total

1987-88

91,307

1,363,198

8.4

8.8

5.1

6.1

6.7

1988-89

82,325

1,360,115

7.5

8.1

4.5

4.9

6.1

1989-90

70,040

1,361,494

6.7

7.2

3.5

4.3

5.1

1990-91

53,965

1,372,738

4.8

5.6

2.7

3.1

3.9

1991-92

53,420

1,406,838

4.8

5.5

2.5

2.9

3.8

1992-93

43,402

1,533,197

3.6

4.2

1.7

2.0

2.8

1993-94

40,211

1,576,015

3.2

3.9

1.5

1.7

2.6

1994-95

29,918

1,617,522

2.3

2.7

1.2

1.1

1.8

1995-96

29,207

1,662,578

2.3

2.5

1.1

1.1

1.8

1996-97

26,901

1,705,972

2.0

2.3

1.0

0.9

1.6

1997-98

27,550

1,743,139

2.1

2.3

0.9

1.1

1.6

1998-99

27,592

1,773,117

2.3

2.3

0.8

0.9

1.6

1999-00

23,457

1,794,521

1.8

1.9

0.7

0.7

1.3

2000-01

17,563

1,818,940

1.3

1.4

0.5

0.5

1.0

2001-02

16,622

1,849,680

1.3

1.3

0.4

0.5

0.9

2002-03

17,151

1,891,361

1.2

1.4

0.4

0.4

0.9

2003-04

16,434

1,924,717

1.0

1.3

0.4

0.4

0.9

2004-05

18,290

1,954,752

1.2

1.4

0.5

0.4

0.9

2005-06*

51,841

2,016,470

3.8

3.5

1.3

1.1

2.6

2006-07* 55,306 2,023,570 4.1 3.7 1.3 1.1 2.7
2007-08* 45,796 2,042,203 3.5 3.0 1.1 0.9 2.2

*The 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 dropout rate was calculated using the National Center for Education Statistics dropout definition. Using the NCES definition, a dropout is defined as “a student who is enrolled in public school in grades 7-12, does not return to public school the following fall, is not expelled, and does not graduate, received a General Education Development (GED) certificate, continue school outside the public school system, begin college, or die.” In order to implement the legislative requirements for the computation of dropout rates, TEA had to make changes in some dates affecting dropout status and some changes in groups of students who had not been considered dropouts previously.

Source: Texas Education Agency, Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools 2004-05. Texas Education Agency, Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools 2007-08.


Resources

Texas Education Agency. Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools 2007-08 (Austin,Texas: Texas Education Agency, July 2009).


Roy L. Johnson, M.S., is director of IDRA Support Services. Comments and questions may be directed to him via e-mail at feedback@idra.org.


[©2009, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the October 2009 IDRA Newsletter by the Intercultural Development Research Association. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]

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