State's high school dropout rate nearly 20 percent

(08-11) 14:53 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Nearly one out of every five students in California's projected class of 2010 - 18.2 percent - dropped out of high school before graduation day, meaning 94,000 teenagers hit the streets without a diploma, according to data released today.
Perhaps more alarming are the 17,000 eighth grade students who quit before attending a single day of high school, about 3 percent of their class.
       These numbers are believed to be California's first accurate assessment of the dropout and graduation rates using a data system that tracks individual students over their four-year high school career, according to the state Department of Education.
       Overall, 74 percent of high school students graduated on time. The remaining 7 percent who didn't graduate or dropout were students still enrolled in school or who earned a GED.
In past years, the state used an unreliable system that relied on schools to manually track students and report dropout rates to the state. The data was sketchy at best, with rates fluctuating year to year and among districts with similar demographics.
       Over the last decade, reported dropout rates statewide have fluctuated between 11 percent to 22 percent.  "For far too long, the discussion about graduation and dropout rates has revolved around how the results were obtained," said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, in a statement. "Now, we can focus on the much more important issue of how to raise the number of graduates and lower the number of dropouts."

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