High School Dropout Rate Falls to 35%

The historically poor high school dropout rate in the Los Angeles Unified School District improved somewhat for the class of 1989. The dropout rate was 35% for the class that graduated last year, a decrease from the 39.2% chalked up by the class of 1988.

While the improvement in the numbers of students who stay in school was registered among all the racial and ethnic groups that make up the district, it is still disproportionately high among blacks. Black students account for 15.8% of the district’s enrollment, yet they had a 44.4% dropout rate, down from the 46% in 1988.

Latinos, who make up 61.6% of enrollment, had a dropout rate of 36.2%, compared to 40.1% in 1988. The rates also improved for whites, who make up 14.5% of the students. Dropouts in that group were 27.8% in 1989, down from 33.8% in 1988.

The statewide average was about 23% in 1988, the last year for which statistics are available. The Los Angeles district spends $3.6 million of its own funds on dropout prevention and receives another $1.7 million for that purpose from federal, state and corporate grants.