Grade Retention and School Dropout: Comparing Specific Grade Levels Across Childhood and Early Adolescence

2021 ◽  
pp. 027243162110103
Author(s):  
Zachary Giano ◽  
Amanda L. Williams ◽  
Jennifer N. Becnel

Students who repeat a grade are at a higher risk of dropping out of high school. Previous research has examined this in a methodologically aggregated way (e.g., repeated any grade versus never repeated) or only specific grades/grade ranges (e.g., Kindergarten or elementary) leaving questions about which grades are more detrimental to repeat with respect to school dropout. This study uses data from the National Center for Education Statistics ( N = 9,309) to comparatively examine which grades, when repeated, show the strongest associations with dropping out. Overall, those who repeated sixth or seventh had the highest odds of dropping out of high school with unique patterns by gender and race/ethnicity. These grades are typically when youth transition into middle school. When examined through a developmental lens, these results highlight the important impact that grade retention while youth experience other normative physical, cognitive, and social changes.

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Prince Mokoena ◽  
Adrian D. van Breda

South Africa, like many countries, has high numbers of learners who do not complete secondary schooling. This reduces these young people’s chances of finding work or of earning a better salary. It is thus important to understand the factors that contribute to high school dropout. In the study reported on here we investigated the factors that caused a number of female learners to drop out and return to high school in a rural community in Mpumalanga. The learners provided 3 reasons for dropping out of school: pregnancy, illness and immigration. The analysis of these factors suggests 3 underlying themes that influence the ability of children to remain in school, viz. health, policies and structures, and poverty. The implications of these and recommendations to address them are discussed. The authors argue that greater interdepartmental efforts are required to support vulnerable girls to remain in school.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (S1) ◽  
pp. 169-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Christenson ◽  
Mary F. Sinclair ◽  
Martha L. Thurlow ◽  
David Evelo

Enhancing coping skills of students at high risk of school dropout is critical, particularly when school demands increase. The data-based Check & Connect school engagement model, originally designed to reduce the risk for dropping out among secondary/middle school youth with learning and emotional/behavioural disabilities, is described. Also described in this article are the students' patterns of school engagement over time, for whom national US statistics indicate only 42 per cent to 61 per cent typically complete high school. Results indicate that the levels of school engagement vary and change over time, among these high risk adolescents, supporting the importance of focusing on alterable indicators of risk, rather than status predictor variables. Furthermore, students' risk for disengagement from school was significantly lower for the youth who received sustained intervention throughout grade nine, compared to similar youth who received intervention support throughout grade eight.


2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 598-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes ◽  
Mary J. Lopez

We evaluate how intensified interior immigration enforcement impacts the likelihood that children of unauthorized immigrants will repeat a grade or drop out of school. Using a weighted index of the intensity of interior immigration enforcement at the MSA level, we find that increased enforcement has the largest impact on younger children ages 6 to 13. The estimates, which account for the non-random residential location of children and their families, reveal that increased enforcement raises young children's probability of repeating a grade by 6 percent and their likelihood of dropping out of school by 25.2 percent.


2008 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Plank ◽  
Stefanie DeLuca ◽  
Angela Estacion

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to investigate high school dropout and its association with the high school curriculum. In particular, it examines how combinations of career and technical education (CTE) and core academic courses influence the likelihood of leaving school. Hazards models indicate a significant curvilinear association between the CTE-to-academic course-taking ratio and the risk of dropping out for youths who were aged 14 and younger when they entered the ninth grade (not old for grade). This finding suggests that a middle-range mix of exposure to CTE and an academic curriculum can strengthen a student's attachment to or motivation while in school. The same association was not found between course taking and the likelihood of dropping out for youths who were aged 15 or older when they entered high school, thus prompting further consideration of the situation of being old for grade in school settings that remain highly age graded in their organization.


2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1039-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Neely ◽  
Elizabeth Vaquera

Previous research suggests that extracurricular engagement reduces the likelihood of high school dropout, particularly among traditionally at-risk populations such as racial and ethnic minorities and students from low-income families. Using social bond theory, we examine how the breadth and intensity of extracurricular engagement are related to the likelihood of dropout among a nationally representative sample of students over three years of schooling. Using logistic regression models, we use data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine how extracurricular participation relates to the potential of dropping out by accounting for known correlates and potential selection biases. We find a significant positive relationship between engagement in extracurricular activities (both in number and distribution over different types of activities) and a reduced likelihood of dropout. This relationship is particularly strong in the case of athletic involvement among African American students and for students who simultaneously participate in both athletic and academic/fine arts activities. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of current policy trends toward the elimination of extracurricular programming and the assessment of student participation fees.


1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phyllis Ellickson ◽  
Khanh Bui ◽  
Robert Bell ◽  
Kimberly A. McGuigan

This study examines the impact of early adolescent drug use on subsequent dropping out of high school in a sample of 4,390 adolescents from California and Oregon. Participants were initially surveyed in 7th grade in 1985 and again in 1990 when they should have completed 12th grade. Logistic regression analyses show that frequency of cigarette use during 7th grade predicts dropping out of high school, controlling for demographics, family structure, academic orientation, early deviance, and school environment. Separate analyses by race/ethnicity replicate this finding for Asians, Blacks, and whites, but not for Latinos. For Latinos, early marijuana use predicts dropping out. The results suggest that preventing or reducing the incidence of early smoking and marijuana use may help reduce the probability of dropping out of high school.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 680-697
Author(s):  
Pramudina Rahmawati

This study aims to analyze the influence of the BOS Program on junior high school dropout decisions in Purworejo Regency and analyze individual, family and school characteristics of junior high school dropout decisions in Purworejo Regency. This type of research is quantitative. The population used in this study were all junior high school children in Purworejo Regency with 24,827 students graduating from junior high school and 30 students dropping out of school. Data analysis method used in this study is binary logit regression. The results in this study indicate that the BOS Program has no significant effect on the decision of school dropouts because BOS funds cannot cover all school operational costs so that many school fees are charged to parents and there are other factors that cause children's decision to drop out of school. Individual characteristics in the form of education and health perceptions significantly influence the decision of school dropouts. Family characteristics in the form of the number of siblings, siblings drop out of school, help parents, and academic support of parents significantly influence the decision of children dropping out of school. School characteristics such as problems with teachers, problems with friends, and distance do not have a significant effect, while school dropouts have a statistically significant effect on the decisions of dropouts. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh Program BOS terhadap keputusan anak putus sekolah tingkat SMP di Kabupaten Purworejo dan menganalisis karakteristik individu, keluarga dan sekolah terhadap keputusan anak putus sekolah tingkat SMP di Kabupaten Purworejo. Jenis penelitian ini adalah kuantitatif. Populasi yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh anak sekolah menengah pertama di Kabupaten Purworejo dengan anak yang lulus sekolah menengah pertama sejumlah 24.827 siswa dan anak putus sekolah sebanyak 30 siswa. Metode analisis data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah regresi binary logit. Hasil dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Program BOS tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap keputusan anak putus sekolah karena dana BOS tidak dapat menutup semua biaya operasional sekolah sehingga banyak biaya sekolah yang dibebankan kepada orang tua siswa serta terdapatnya faktor lain yang menyebabkan keputusan anak untuk putus sekolah. Karakteristik individu berupa persepsi pendidikan dan kesehatan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap keputusan anak putus sekolah. Karakteristik keluarga berupa jumlah saudara, saudara kandung putus sekolah, membantu orang tua, dan dukungan akademik orang tua berpengaruh signifkan terhadap keputusan anak putus sekolah. Karakteristik sekolah berupa masalah dengan guru, masalah dengan teman, dan jarak tidak berpengaruh signifikan, sedangkan teman putus sekolah berpengaruh signifikan secara statistik terhadap keputusan anak putus sekolah.


1983 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Fine ◽  
Pearl Rosenberg

This paper explores the tension between prevailing ideologies of the high school dropout as “loser” and data which indicate that many dropouts are highly motivated, intelligent, and critical of educational institutions and labor market opportunities. Attention is paid to who drops out, with a particular focus on gender, race/ethnicity, and class, and to how these dropouts are portrayed in social-science, popular, and teacher-training literature. It is concluded that explanations offered for the “tragedy of the dropouts” which isolate individual or family factors function to delegitimate dropouts' critique of schools and the labor market, bolster the image of education as the great equalizer, and deflect attention away from race, class, and gender biases which operate in schools and at work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (S1-May) ◽  
pp. 59-68
Author(s):  
Mevsim Zengin

The aim of this study is to determine the risk level of high school students for dropout. The sample of the research in the descriptive survey model consisted of 578 students studying in public high schools in the central districts of Mersin. The “School Dropout Risk Scale” was used as a data collection tool in the study. According to the findings obtained as a result of the research, male students are more likely to drop out of school and behave antisocial than female students. It has been observed that there are silent types who have a perception of failure, do not show that they will drop out of school, are in the risk group, and that the students expressed a “low” level of opinion regarding the total score at the risk of dropping out of school. In line with these findings, suggestions were made to prevent school dropout.


AERA Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841879908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence J. Lee-St. John ◽  
Mary E. Walsh ◽  
Anastasia E. Raczek ◽  
Caroline E. Vuilleumier ◽  
Claire Foley ◽  
...  

Dropping out of high school has adverse consequences, including negative effects on employment, lifetime earnings, and physical health. Students often fail to complete high school for complex reasons that often manifest long before they reach high school. This study examines the link between participation in a comprehensive elementary school student support intervention and high school dropout. In this study, students who attended intervention elementary schools in a large, urban, high-poverty district during 2001–2014 ( N=894) were compared to students who did not attend intervention schools ( N=10,200). Likelihood of dropping out in grades 9–12 was estimated using propensity score-weighted Discrete Event History Analysis. Intervention students had approximately half the odds of dropout ( p<.001); the probability of dropout for intervention was 9.2%, compared to 16.6% for non-intervention students. Individually tailored student support interventions during elementary school can lead to lasting and meaningful effects.


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