Research

Attrition and Dropout Rates in Texas

Attrition and Dropout Rates in Texas

Texas public schools are losing one out of five students.

Each year, IDRA releases its attrition study. Attrition rates are an indicator of a school’s holding power, or the ability to keep students enrolled in school and learning until they graduate. Key findings from the latest study show the following.

  • Texas schools are failing to graduate more than one of every five high school students
  • The Texas public school attrition rates increased each year since 2020-21.
  • It has taken almost four decades for Texas to reduce the state’s attrition rate by a mere 11 points from 33% to 22%.
  • Total attrition rates and those of the state’s largest groups (Black, Latino, white) are higher than the year before COVID-19.
  • For the class of 2023, Latino students and Black students were more than twice as likely to leave school without graduating than white students.
  • The attrition rate gap between white students and Black students has more than doubled between 1985-86 and 2022-23.

See a preview article for the 2022-23 study: Schools Struggle to Hold On to Students – Preview of IDRA’s 38th Annual Texas Public School Attrition Study

See reporter FAQs and resources regarding attrition and dropout data (and downloadable graphics).


Quick Links to IDRA’s Attrition Study Stories and Resources

Attrition Study 2021-22: High School Attrition Rate Sees First Increase in Six Years – Texas Public School Attrition Study 2021-22

News Release (2020-21 study): Texas High Schools Reaches All-Time Low Attrition Rate, but Still Loses 80,000 Students – IDRA Study Gives a First Look at the Pandemic’s Effect on Attrition Rates

Attrition Study 2020-21: Texas Public School Attrition Study 2020-21

Infographic: Texas public schools are losing one out of five students

Infographic: 8 Types of Dropout Data Defined

Infographic: 6 Policies and Practices that Lead to Higher Dropout Rates

Trend graphs: See attrition rates and numbers over 10 years

Article: Preview of IDRA’s 36th Annual Texas Public School Attrition Study – A First Look at the Pandemic’s Effect on Attrition Rates


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Additional Resources

Report: College Bound and Determined – A report profiling what happens when a school district raises expectations for students instead of lowering them

Book: Courage to Connect: A Quality Schools Action Framework

Overview of the Valued Youth Partnership program, which keeps 98 percent of students in school (PDF)

Ideas and Strategies for Action


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  • Resources

  • 2020-21 Attrition Study
    PDF

  • Texas public schools are losing 1 of 5 students
    Infographics
  • Look Up Your County for 10 Year Trend Graphs
    Infographics

News Release: Texas High Schools Lost 1 in 5 Students Last Year – It Has Taken Over 3 Decades to Improve by Just 11 Points

The Texas high school attrition rate has declined from 24 percent last year to 22 percent in 2017-18 – the...

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Look Up Your County

See attrition rates and numbers over the last 10 years.

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6 Policies and Practices that Lead to Higher Dropout Rates – Infographic

IDRA identified six school policies that lead to higher dropout rates as outlined this infographic: • Exclusionary Discipline • In-grade...

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Types of Dropout Data Defined

IDRA’s infographic gives an overview of the most-used methods of tracking dropout and graduation rates and what they mean.

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Poor Students Are More Likely to Disappear from Schools in Texas

San Antonio (January 31, 2019) – Texas schools, particularly those in low wealth districts and large urban areas, are more...

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News Release: Texas Charter School System Suffers Low Graduation Rates

News Release: San Antonio (December 13, 2017) – Texas students in charter schools are not necessarily faring better than their...

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IDRA Attrition Studies Over the Years

Each fall, IDRA releases its attrition study. We have released these studies every year since 1986, when IDRA conducted the...

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Attrition Rate Forecast Predicts Loss of Almost 2 Million More Students

(June 14, 2022) IDRA’s analysis found that Texas will not reach an attrition rate of zero until 2039. At this...

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News Release: Zero Tolerance Policies Push Students Away

(December 1, 2016) – Zero tolerance policies likely contribute to high attrition rates of Black students and Hispanic students in...

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News Release: Temporary Policy Relieves High-Stakes for 6,000 Students

(November 14, 2016) Students who are economically disadvantaged, Latino or African American benefited most from the alternative graduation policy established...

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