Dropouts Return

School Administrator, Nov, 1998

Nearly 45 percent of 8th grade students who dropped out of high school completed their high school requirements within six years and another 24 percent were working on a diploma or General Educational Development certificate, according to a new study by the National Center of Education Statistics.

The study, "Subsequent Educational Attainment of High School Dropouts," followed a 1988 cohort of 8th graders who dropped out by examining their educational attainment in 1994. The study also compared those who returned to complete their education and those who did not.

Other findings:

* Seventy-six percent of dropouts from families within the top quartile of socioeconomic status finished high school, compared to only 33 percent for those from the lowest quartile.

* Dropouts with high test scores, but not necessarily those with high grades, were most likely to finish high school.

* Fifty-seven percent of those who never dropped out were enrolled in two or four-year postsecondary institutions, compared to only 8 percent for dropouts.