Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 105. Percentage of high school dropouts (status dropouts) among persons 16 to 24 years old, by sex and race/ethnicity: 1960 through 2004
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
           |                   Total                   |                    Male                   |                   Female
           |___________________________________________|___________________________________________|___________________________________________
           |          |    White,|    Black,|          |          |    White,|    Black,|          |          |    White,|    Black,|
           |       All|      non-|      non-|  Hispanic|       All|      non-|      non-|  Hispanic|       All|      non-|      non-| Hispanic
Year       |  races\1\|  Hispanic|  Hispanic|    origin|  races\1\|  Hispanic|  Hispanic|    origin|  races\1\|  Hispanic|  Hispanic|   origin
___________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________
1          |         2|         3|         4|         5|         6|         7|         8|         9|        10|        11|        12|       13
___________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________
1960\2\ ...|27.2 (---)|---   (†) | ---  (†) |---   (†) |27.8 (---)|---   (†) |---   (†) |---   (†) |26.7 (---)|---   (†) |---   (†) |---   (†)
1967\3\ ...|17.0 (---)|15.4 (---)|28.6 (---)|---   (†) |16.5 (---)|14.7 (---)|30.6 (---)|---   (†) |17.3 (---)|16.1 (---)|26.9 (---)|---   (†)
1968\3\ ...|16.2 (---)|14.7 (---)|27.4 (---)|---   (†) |15.8 (---)|14.4 (---)|27.1 (---)|---   (†) |16.5 (---)|15.0 (---)|27.6 (---)|---   (†)
1969\3\ ...|15.2 (---)|13.6 (---)|26.7 (---)|---   (†) |14.3 (---)|12.6 (---)|26.9 (---)|---   (†) |16.0 (---)|14.6 (---)|26.7 (---)|---   (†)
1970\3\ ...|15.0(0.29)|13.2(0.30)|27.9(1.22)|---   (†) |14.2(0.42)|12.2(0.42)|29.4(1.82)|---   (†) |15.7(0.41)|14.1(0.42)|26.6(1.65)|---   (†)
           |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
1971\3\ ...|14.7(0.28)|13.4(0.29)|24.0(1.14)|---   (†) |14.2(0.41)|12.6(0.41)|25.5(1.70)|---   (†) |15.2(0.40)|14.2(0.42)|22.6(1.54)|---   (†)
1972 ......|14.6(0.28)|12.3(0.29)|21.3(1.07)|34.3(2.22)|14.1(0.40)|11.6(0.40)|22.3(1.59)|33.7(3.23)|15.1(0.39)|12.8(0.41)|20.5(1.44)|34.8(3.05)
1973 ......|14.1(0.27)|11.6(0.28)|22.2(1.06)|33.5(2.24)|13.7(0.38)|11.5(0.39)|21.5(1.53)|30.4(3.16)|14.5(0.38)|11.8(0.39)|22.8(1.47)|36.4(3.16)
1974 ......|14.3(0.27)|11.9(0.28)|21.2(1.05)|33.0(2.08)|14.2(0.39)|12.0(0.40)|20.1(1.51)|33.8(2.99)|14.3(0.38)|11.8(0.39)|22.1(1.45)|32.2(2.90)
1975 ......|13.9(0.27)|11.4(0.27)|22.9(1.06)|29.2(2.02)|13.3(0.37)|11.0(0.38)|23.0(1.56)|26.7(2.84)|14.5(0.38)|11.8(0.39)|22.9(1.44)|31.6(2.86)
           |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
1976 ......|14.1(0.27)|12.0(0.28)|20.5(1.00)|31.4(2.01)|14.1(0.38)|12.1(0.39)|21.2(1.49)|30.3(2.94)|14.2(0.37)|11.8(0.39)|19.9(1.35)|32.3(2.76)
1977 ......|14.1(0.27)|11.9(0.28)|19.8(0.99)|33.0(2.02)|14.5(0.38)|12.6(0.40)|19.5(1.45)|31.6(2.89)|13.8(0.37)|11.2(0.38)|20.0(1.36)|34.3(2.83)
1978 ......|14.2(0.27)|11.9(0.28)|20.2(1.00)|33.3(2.00)|14.6(0.38)|12.2(0.40)|22.5(1.52)|33.6(2.88)|13.9(0.37)|11.6(0.39)|18.3(1.31)|33.1(2.78)
1979 ......|14.6(0.27)|12.0(0.28)|21.1(1.01)|33.8(1.98)|15.0(0.39)|12.6(0.40)|22.4(1.52)|33.0(2.83)|14.2(0.37)|11.5(0.38)|20.0(1.35)|34.5(2.77)
1980 ......|14.1(0.26)|11.4(0.27)|19.1(0.97)|35.2(1.89)|15.1(0.39)|12.3(0.40)|20.8(1.47)|37.2(2.72)|13.1(0.36)|10.5(0.37)|17.7(1.28)|33.2(2.61)
           |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
1981 ......|13.9(0.26)|11.3(0.27)|18.4(0.93)|33.2(1.80)|15.1(0.38)|12.5(0.40)|19.9(1.40)|36.0(2.61)|12.8(0.35)|10.2(0.36)|17.1(1.24)|30.4(2.48)
1982 ......|13.9(0.27)|11.4(0.29)|18.4(0.97)|31.7(1.93)|14.5(0.40)|12.0(0.42)|21.2(1.50)|30.5(2.73)|13.3(0.38)|10.8(0.40)|15.9(1.26)|32.8(2.71)
1983 ......|13.7(0.27)|11.1(0.29)|18.0(0.97)|31.6(1.93)|14.9(0.41)|12.2(0.43)|19.9(1.46)|34.3(2.84)|12.5(0.37)|10.1(0.39)|16.2(1.28)|29.1(2.61)
1984 ......|13.1(0.27)|11.0(0.29)|15.5(0.91)|29.8(1.91)|14.0(0.40)|11.9(0.43)|16.8(1.37)|30.6(2.78)|12.3(0.37)|10.1(0.39)|14.3(1.22)|29.0(2.63)
1985 ......|12.6(0.27)|10.4(0.29)|15.2(0.92)|27.6(1.93)|13.4(0.40)|11.1(0.42)|16.1(1.37)|29.9(2.76)|11.8(0.37)| 9.8(0.39)|14.3(1.23)|25.2(2.68)
           |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
1986 ......|12.2(0.27)| 9.7(0.28)|14.2(0.90)|30.1(1.88)|13.1(0.40)|10.3(0.42)|15.0(1.33)|32.8(2.66)|11.4(0.37)| 9.1(0.39)|13.5(1.21)|27.2(2.63)
1987 ......|12.6(0.28)|10.4(0.30)|14.1(0.90)|28.6(1.84)|13.2(0.40)|10.8(0.43)|15.0(1.35)|29.1(2.57)|12.1(0.38)|10.0(0.41)|13.3(1.21)|28.1(2.64)
1988 ......|12.9(0.30)| 9.6(0.31)|14.5(1.00)|35.8(2.30)|13.5(0.44)|10.3(0.46)|15.0(1.48)|36.0(3.19)|12.2(0.42)| 8.9(0.43)|14.0(1.36)|35.4(3.31)
1989 ......|12.6(0.31)| 9.4(0.32)|13.9(0.98)|33.0(2.19)|13.6(0.45)|10.3(0.47)|14.9(1.46)|34.4(3.08)|11.7(0.42)| 8.5(0.43)|13.0(1.32)|31.6(3.11)
1990 ......|12.1(0.29)| 9.0(0.30)|13.2(0.94)|32.4(1.91)|12.3(0.42)| 9.3(0.44)|11.9(1.30)|34.3(2.71)|11.8(0.41)| 8.7(0.42)|14.4(1.34)|30.3(2.70)
           |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
1991 ......|12.5(0.30)| 8.9(0.31)|13.6(0.95)|35.3(1.93)|13.0(0.43)| 8.9(0.44)|13.5(1.37)|39.2(2.74)|11.9(0.41)| 8.9(0.43)|13.7(1.31)|31.1(2.70)
1992\4\ ...|11.0(0.28)| 7.7(0.29)|13.7(0.95)|29.4(1.86)|11.3(0.41)| 8.0(0.42)|12.5(1.32)|32.1(2.67)|10.7(0.39)| 7.4(0.40)|14.8(1.36)|26.6(2.56)
1993\4\ ...|11.0(0.28)| 7.9(0.29)|13.6(0.94)|27.5(1.79)|11.2(0.40)| 8.2(0.42)|12.6(1.32)|28.1(2.54)|10.9(0.40)| 7.6(0.41)|14.4(1.34)|26.9(2.52)
1994\4\ ...|11.4(0.26)| 7.7(0.27)|12.6(0.75)|30.0(1.16)|12.3(0.38)| 8.0(0.38)|14.1(1.14)|31.6(1.60)|10.6(0.36)| 7.5(0.37)|11.3(0.99)|28.1(1.66)
1995\4\ ...|12.0(0.27)| 8.6(0.28)|12.1(0.74)|30.0(1.15)|12.2(0.38)| 9.0(0.40)|11.1(1.05)|30.0(1.59)|11.7(0.37)| 8.2(0.39)|12.9(1.05)|30.0(1.66)
           |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
1996\4\ ...|11.1(0.27)| 7.3(0.27)|13.0(0.80)|29.4(1.19)|11.4(0.38)| 7.3(0.38)|13.5(1.18)|30.3(1.67)|10.9(0.38)| 7.3(0.39)|12.5(1.08)|28.3(1.69)
1997\4\ ...|11.0(0.27)| 7.6(0.28)|13.4(0.80)|25.3(1.11)|11.9(0.39)| 8.5(0.41)|13.3(1.16)|27.0(1.55)|10.1(0.36)| 6.7(0.37)|13.5(1.11)|23.4(1.59)
1998\4\ ...|11.8(0.27)| 7.7(0.28)|13.8(0.81)|29.5(1.12)|13.3(0.40)| 8.6(0.41)|15.5(1.24)|33.5(1.59)|10.3(0.36)| 6.9(0.37)|12.2(1.05)|25.0(1.56)
1999\4\ ...|11.2(0.26)| 7.3(0.27)|12.6(0.77)|28.6(1.11)|11.9(0.38)| 7.7(0.39)|12.1(1.10)|31.0(1.58)|10.5(0.36)| 6.9(0.37)|13.0(1.08)|26.0(1.54)
2000\4\ ...|10.9(0.26)| 6.9(0.26)|13.1(0.78)|27.8(1.08)|12.0(0.38)| 7.0(0.37)|15.3(1.20)|31.8(1.56)| 9.9(0.35)| 6.9(0.37)|11.1(1.00)|23.5(1.48)
           |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |          |
2001\4\ ...|10.7(0.25)| 7.3(0.26)|10.9(0.71)|27.0(1.06)|12.2(0.38)| 7.9(0.39)|13.0(1.12)|31.6(1.55)| 9.3(0.34)| 6.7(0.36)| 9.0(0.90)|22.1(1.42)
2002\4\ ...|10.5(0.24)| 6.5(0.24)|11.3(0.70)|25.7(0.93)|11.8(0.35)| 6.7(0.35)|12.8(1.07)|29.6(1.32)| 9.2(0.32)| 6.3(0.34)| 9.9(0.91)|21.2(1.27)
2003\4,5\ .| 9.9(0.23)| 6.3(0.24)|10.9(0.69)|23.5(0.90)|11.3(0.34)| 7.1(0.35)|12.5(1.05)|26.7(1.29)| 8.4(0.30)| 5.6(0.32)| 9.5(0.89)|20.1(1.23)
2004\4,5\ .|10.3(0.23)| 6.8(0.24)|11.8(0.70)|23.8(0.89)|11.6(0.34)| 7.1(0.35)|13.5(1.08)|28.5(1.30)| 9.0(0.31)| 6.4(0.34)|10.2(0.92)|18.5(1.18)
___________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________|__________
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
\1\Includes other racial/ethnic categories not separately shown.
\2\Based on the April 1960 decennial census.
\3\White and Black include persons of Hispanic origin.
\4\Because of changes in data collection procedures, data may not be comparable with figures for years prior to 1992.
\5\White, non-Hispanic and Black, non-Hispanic categories exclude persons identifying themselves as more than one race.
NOTE: "Status" dropouts are 16- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and who have not completed a high school program regardless of when they left school. People who have received GED credentials are counted as high school completers. All data except for 1960 are based on October counts. Data are based upon sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October 1967 through October 2004, unpublished tabulations. (This table was prepared September 2005.)


2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest