Dropout Rate in L.A. High Schools at 39%, State Says

Nearly four out of 10 Los Angeles Unified School District students drop out of high school before graduation, a dropout rate considerably higher than the average statewide and that found in most other large urban districts, according to a new state report released Monday.

The report also said that two smaller Los Angeles County districts--Azusa and El Rancho unified school districts--have dropout rates exceeding 50%.

The new Department of Education figures, based for the first time on a three-year survey, are certain to add fuel to the debate over how to combat one of public education’s most intractable problems. Districts and the state have long been at odds over the size of the dropout problem, with some districts accusing the state’s statistics of inflating the number of students who fail to graduate from public high schools.

‘Very Disquieting’

State officials, meanwhile, have charged districts with failing to take strong enough measures to keep youngsters in school through graduation.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig said Monday that Los Angeles’ dropout rate of 39%, measured over three years, was “very disquieting” and shows that the state’s most populous school system is failing to adequately address the dilemma.

“The job’s not being done there,” he said.

Honig said districts should take stronger steps, such as establishing special dropout clinics aimed at keeping students in school. He also noted that some districts have incentive programs that reward schools for bringing back dropouts.

Los Angeles district officials did not challenge the statistics contained in the state’s annual district-by-district dropout report, but said that solving the dropout problem is more difficult and complex in Los Angeles because of the district’s size and the large numbers of students who are poor and speak little English.

However, officials in other districts disputed the state’s figures, criticizing the methods used to collect and report them. Many districts prefer to cite a one-year dropout rate, which is generally lower than the three-year calculation issued by the state.

The state prefers the three-year figure because it gives a more complete picture of what happens to a class after the 10th grade. Previously, the state had provided one-year rates, which do not tell how many students may drop out over the three years of high school, and an “attrition” rate, which is a broader category that also includes students who moved out of a district, passed a high school equivalency test or for other reasons left high school before graduation.

State Education Department spokesman Bill Rukeyser said that the dropout statistic is still not as accurate as it could be. Until state officials are satisfied that it offers as accurate a measure as possible, the state will continue to offer both the dropout and attrition figures, he said.

Honig said that the statewide dropout rate, based on the class of 1988, was 22.7% over three years. But the attrition rate increased slightly, from 30.5 in 1984 to 32.2 in 1988.

“We still have a major problem in the state, obviously,” Honig said. But he added that the overall trend shows that “we seem to be containing” the dropout problem.

The state schools chief said he plans to launch a statewide campaign in the fall to reduce dropouts.

“We will be taking the (programs) that have worked in some districts and making sure every district adopts a plan and incorporates the things that pay off,” he said.

In Los Angeles Unified, the attrition rate was 56.4%. This was high compared to other urban systems with similar kinds of students, such as Compton at 49.3% and Long Beach at 26.3%. Both districts also showed lower dropout rates than Los Angeles--28.9% and 24%, respectively.

Oakland showed a 44.9% attrition rate and a 23.5% dropout rate.

San Francisco Figure

Among the state’s largest urban districts, San Francisco had the highest dropout rate--43.1%.

In Los Angeles Unified, district spokeswoman Diana Munatones said the 39% three-year dropout rate is “not a fair appraisal” because the district is bigger and has more poor and ethnically diverse students than other districts in the state.

Although Munatones acknowledged that the district could do more to combat the dropout problem, she said solving it is complicated by an array of social problems that schools are ill-equipped to address, such as drugs, divorce and unstable families.

The state report said that Azusa Unified School District in eastern Los Angeles County had a three-year dropout rate of 51.8%.

‘I’m Very Upset’

Supt. Duane Stiff refused to comment, stating that he had not seen a copy of the state report. “This is another of Mr. Honig’s faux pas. I’m very upset to get calls from newspapers about a report I haven’t seen,” Stiff said.

In the El Rancho Unified School District, which serves Pico Rivera, the dropout rate was 50.2%. Rip Gowen, coordinator of child welfare and attendance, was critical of the state’s method of calculating the figures and also questioned the honesty of some districts in reporting “non-graduates.”

“We get very poor direction from the state” on how to report dropout information, Gowen said. “It’s not very clear.” Gowen said his district’s one-year dropout figures are more accurate, showing a 14% to 16% dropout rate over the last few years. “I think we’re not doing too bad out here. Something is skewed on the state figures.”

Jose Colon, who runs a privately funded dropout prevention program in 16 Los Angeles district schools, said the district has the most students in the state who educators consider hard to teach. He said that educators know what approaches work to reduce dropouts but that the problem is finding the resources to put those programs into all the schools that need help.

Social Services Provided

Colon runs Focus on Youth, a program of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership, which provides social services that students may need in order to stay in school. For instance, many students drop out because they cannot afford decent clothing, he said. Focus on Youth puts students in contact with an agency that will provide three sets of new clothes. “Wherever there is poverty,” Colon said, “there is a need for a lot of supportive social services, as well as for good teaching. That is a need that is often unrecognized.”

Among the students served by his program, Colon said, the dropout rate was reduced by a third to a half of the dropout rate for the school as a whole. Those students also increased their grade point averages in two semesters from 1.2 to 2.2 and drastically reduced their truancy rates.

SCHOOL ATTRITION AND DROPOUT RATES The state Department of Education released new figures on attrition and dropout rates in California school districts. The attrition rate is a percentage calculated by dividing the number of students who graduate in a given year by the number who enrolled two years earlier in the 10th grade. Attrition figures below show the percentage change in the rate from 1984 to 1988. The attrition rate is a broad measure that includes students who drop out as well as those who leave school early because they passed an equivalency exam, moved out of the district or who for other reasons will not graduate with their class. The dropout rate is a percentage calculated by totaling the number of dropouts in the 10th grade in 1985-86, the 11th grade in 1986-87 and the 12th grade in 1987-88 and then dividing that number by the total 10th grade enrollment in 1985-86. Dropouts include students who left school after entering the 10th grade and did not receive a high school diploma or equivalent.

PERCENT CHANGE IN ATTRITION RATE DROPOUT RATE State average 1.7 22.7 Orange County 1.1 18.0 San Bernardino County 3.6 28.1 Riverside County 3.1 23.7 San Diego County -0.1 20.0 Los Angeles County 4.8 29.1 Los Angeles Unified 8.2 39.0 ABC Unified 1.8 10.2 Alhambra City 4.1 15.1 Antelope Valley 12.7 40.0 Arcadia Unified 8.0 15.0 Azusa Unified 3.7 51.8 Baldwin Park Unified 2.4 18.2 Bassett Unified -2.5 24.4 Bellflower Unified 16.9 11.9 Beverly Hills Unified 9.5 10.2 Bonita Unified -2.7 14.7 Burbank Unified 4.6 24.1 Centinela Valley Union -13.6 27.8 Charter Oak Unified -4.4 16.2 Claremont Unified 0.6 8.6 Compton Unified 19.8 28.9 Covina-Valley Unified -4.4 9.8 Culver City Unified -1.0 10.6 Downey Unified -2.1 18.3 Duarte Unified -17.3 14.5 El Monte Unified -6.1 30.2 El Rancho Unified -2.2 50.2 El Segundo Unified 11.8 16.2 Glendale Unified 0.7 13.1 Glendora Unified -3.7 14.1 Hacienda La Puente Unified 2.6 17.9 Inglewood Unified 9.1 17.9 La Canada Unified 3.4 4.9 Las Virgenes Unified -2.5 9.9 Long Beach Unified -4.4 24.0 Lynwood Unified -5.9 11.1 Monrovia Unified -6.1 13.3 Montebello Unified 11.2 20.0 Norwalk-La Mirada Unified 3.7 21.7 Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified -1.6 2.7 Paramount Unified -19.5 18.7 Pasadena Unified 3.1 21.8 Pomona Unified -1.5 27.1 Rowland Unified 2.8 21.9 San Marino Unified 3.7 1.3 Santa Monica-Malibu Unified 5.5 34.7 South Bay Union -13.7 8.3 South Pasadena Unified 6.6 3.4 Temple City Unified 6.4 9.6 Torrance Unified -6.2 9.2 Walnut Valley Unified -7.7 5.9 West Covina Unified -4.8 18.1 Whittier Union 4.6 23.2 William S. Hart Union -1.2 20.0