County Dropout Figures Call for a Few Lessons

The state Department of Education figures released last week show the average dropout rate for all Orange County students is 16.9%, nearly 6% lower than the state average of 22.7%.

Averages can be deceiving.

The more significant statistic in the state report is that 33% of the Latino students in the county drop out, usually before their junior year of high school. That is about 2 1/2 times greater than the 13% dropout rate for Anglo students. In some school districts, as many as four or five of every 10 Latino students do not stay long enough to get a high school diploma. The frustrating thing about the three-year statewide survey is that although the state has been able to determine the most realistic dropout figures possible, it still cannot pinpoint exactly why students drop out, why the gap is so great between Anglo and Latino students, and why the dropout rates for Latinos vary so much between school districts.

The one thing that is certain is that it is not just the students who left school that failed. The schools did too. And so has the community.

Some students quit because they cannot keep up with the work or lack basic skills. Others become bored or get involved in gang activity. Some students from poor families must leave to take jobs to help out at home. Girls also quit to get married or because they became pregnant. Whatever the reason, dropout rates for all minority students exceed those of Anglo students, and past studies have shown that 80% of the Latino and black students in the state have fallen behind by the third grade. And fewer blacks and Latinos who do graduate go on to colleges or universities.

Regardless of ethnic background, the result affects not only the individual student, but also the entire community. Dropouts lacking education or marketable skills are stuck with lower-paying jobs--or no job at all. The community bears the economic and social costs of less productive residents, reduced tax income, more costly social service programs and fewer qualified workers.

It is time that educators and residents learned a few lessons in how to keep more students in school. Potential dropouts must be recognized early, and enthusiastic programs that increase their confidence, keep them interested in learning and that involve the parents as well as students should be part of every grade school. Without them, the gap between Anglo and minority dropout rates--and productive, successful lives--will remain so seriously out of proportion.