High school dropout rates in California have been on a decline
in recent years as fewer minority students are leaving schools in
the state, including San Benito County.
High school dropout rates in California have been on a decline in recent years as fewer minority students are leaving schools in the state, including San Benito County.
The county’s overall dropout rate for the 2001-02 school year was 1.3 percent (43 students), down from 1.5 in 2000-01, according to statistics released last week by the California Department of Education.
The county’s rate is lower than the state’s 2.7 percent in 2001-02, down slightly from 2.8 percent the year before. The state has been experiencing a decline since the 1991-92 school year, when the dropout rate was 5.2 percent.
“I think people are recognizing the need to stay in school,” said Jean Burns Slater, superintendent of the San Benito High School District. “There was a time when a 10th-grade education was good enough to do anything. Those days are over.”
Each high school in the county had its own story. When compared to the year before, Anzar High School held steady with an 0.6 percent dropout rate, while SBHS increased by 0.1 percent and San Andreas Continuation High School dropped by 5.5 percent.
Although the numbers are good news, Slater is concerned about the effect the California High School Exit Exam will have on dropout rates. If students take the test at the beginning of their sophomore year and have trouble passing it, they may say “what the heck?” Slater said.
While there have been improvements in the past, County Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley sees a brighter future. Foley is looking to the county’s partnership with District Attorney John Sarsfield to crack down on truancy.
“With out partnership with the new DA, we will be able to identify problems in the elementary grades,” Foley said. “We’ll be able to offer support to families and establish habits and patterns of school as a priority early on. That will make a difference later on.”
The county’s dropout rate has decreased in the last five years among both Hispanic and Caucasian students, who made up 3,148 of the county’s 3,273 high school students in 2001-02. The dropout rate among Caucasian students dropped from 2.4 percent in 1997-98 to 1.2 percent in 2001-02, while Hispanic dropouts went from 3.1 percent in 1997-98 to 1.4 percent in 2001-02.
Both figures were below the state’s dropout rates. The percentage of whites leaving school early in the county was 1.2 compared to the state’s 1.7 percent. Hispanic dropouts in the county totaled 1.4 percent compared to 3.7 percent statewide.
While indicators point to fewer dropouts, Foley said he does not put much stock in dropout-rate measurements.
“‘Dropout’ is a real imprecise term,” he said. “Students can leave a program and their records can be sent elsewhere, and they’re not counted as a dropout. It’s frustrating, personally. It’s not an accurate measurement.”
Foley said he wishes there was a system to track students who leave districts and counties to see if they ended up staying in school.
“We live in a mobile society. Kids can get lost,” he said. “It’s hard to determine if the kids show up at the other program.”
Slater said she hopes the SBHSD’s new alternative education program will help decrease the number of students who drop out of school.
San Andreas’s dropout rate has been decreasing for the past three years – from 28.2 to 11.6 to 6.1 percent. Foley said the school community has helped save a lot of students. This year, 115 of San Andreas’s 207 students will be graduating – a phenomenal number, he said.
“It’s a more personal community,” Foley said. “Adults help serve has personal mentors so kids don’t fall through the cracks.”
Dropout Rates
School2001-022000-011999-20001998-991997-98
Anzar0.6%0.6%0.9%1.5%1.4%
San Andreas6.1%11.6%28.2%12.1%29.3%
SBHS0.9%0.8%0.6%0.9%0.5%
County1.3%1.5%2.2%2.1%2.8%
State2.7%2.8%2.8%2.8%2.9%
County dropout rates by ethnicity
Ethnicity2001-022000-01
Asian0%0%
Black3.6%0%
Hispanic1.4%1.8%
White1.2%1.0%
Source: State Department of Education
