Dropout Rate in O.C. High Schools Is 18%, Under State Average

Nearly one out of five county students drop out of high school before graduation, a rate slightly lower than the statewide average, according to a new state report released Monday.

School districts in Fullerton, Anaheim and Santa Ana recorded the highest dropout rates in the county, while the Placentia and Brea-Olinda unified school districts had the lowest.

The county had a dropout rate of 18% overall, slightly lower than the state average of 22.7% and far below the figure for the Los Angeles Unified School District, where nearly two out of five students dropped out of high school before graduation.

Fuel for Longstanding Debate

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 saying the state’s statistics inflate the number of students who fail to graduate from public high schools.

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

State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig said Monday that 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.

Several Orange County educators complained that they were making just such an effort but that the state statistics released Monday failed to reflect recent gains made in the dropout fight.

Program Inflates Rate

At the 12,000-student Fullerton Joint Union High School District, which had the highest dropout rate in the county at 34.3% for the class of 1988, administrators said they suspect that their rate was inflated by the district’s “large and aggressive” alternative education program, according Les Shuck, associate superintendent.

While the program helps return students to school, some of the troubled teen-agers eventually leave for good, and the rate rises because of it, he said. In the 1987-88 school year, for instance, state officials said the district had a 12.6% dropout rate, but the actual figure--not including the alternative education program--was 3.2%, he said.

“I’m sure this is Mr. Honig’s way of being responsive to the public and making sure people are not being kept in the dark,” Shuck said. “But from our point of view, it’s flawed, and we get in the position of trying to explain someone else’s flawed data.”

Officials in other districts also 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.

More Complete Picture

The state prefers the three-year figure, which it released for the first time this year, 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 acknowledged 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 the statewide dropout rate, based on the class of 1988, was 22.7% over three years. But the dropout rate, representing more than two out of every 10 students in the state, remains troubling, he said.

‘A Major Problem’

“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 a statewide campaign in the fall to reduce dropouts.

While Fullerton recorded the highest cumulative dropout rate in Orange County, the Anaheim Union High School District had 28.2% of its high school students drop out of school and Santa Ana Unified School District followed with 26.4%. Brea-Olinda Unified School District and Placentia Unified School District had the lowest rates, at 3.1% and 4.3%, respectively.

Santa Ana, however, recorded the highest attrition rate, with 46.7% of the students leaving before graduation for varied reasons. Anaheim had the second-greatest attrition rate, with 32.7%, while the Saddleback Valley Unified School District recorded the biggest drop in attrition during the last four years, falling from 13.4% in 1984 to 8% in 1988.

Officials at Santa Ana Unified did not dispute the state figures but said they have made special efforts in recent years to stave off the ballooning number of dropouts in the 37,000-student district.

‘Worked Really Hard’

“This is something we’ve worked really hard on,” said Diane Thomas, a district spokeswoman. “We believe it’s still a serious problem, but we’ve had some progress, and we’re not going to let up in those areas. It has to get better.”

Among other efforts, the district has started using “outreach counselors” to work with troubled students and their families to increase the odds of keeping the youths in school, she said. In addition, the district has introduced a mentor program with successful adults serving as role models.

Finally, Santa Ana educators have increased efforts to more effectively move students into continuation programs or adult education “to find the right kind of learning atmosphere, so we can keep them in school,” Thomas said.

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 Dropout County Attrition Rate 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 -.1 20.0 Los Angeles County 4.8 29.1

ORANGE COUNTY BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Percent Change in Dropout County Attrition Rate Rate Anaheim Union High 3.7 28.2 Brea-Olinda Unified 10.8 3.1 Capistrano Unified .4 9.4 Fullerton Joint Union High 4.0 34.3 Garden Grove Unified 1.2 13.6 Huntington Beach Union High -2.3 18.8 Irvine Unified 5.5 5.4 Laguna Beach Unified -.1 0.1 Los Alamitos Unified -2.4 8.2 Newport-Mesa Unified -1.5 12.2 Orange Unified 1.0 19.8 Placentia Unified 3.5 4.3 Saddleback Valley Unified -5.4 12.0 Santa Ana Unified 2.0 26.4 Tustin Unified 8.2 9.7

Source: State Department of Educaton