Skip Navigation
small header image
Dropout Rates in The United States: 2002 and 2003

NCES 2008-053
September 2008

Back Arrow List of Tables Download Excel Excel format (22 KB) Download Excel(se) Excel format (22 KB)  

Table 2. Event dropout rates of 15- through 24-year-olds who dropped out of grades 10-12, and number of dropouts and population of 15- through 24-year-olds who were enrolled: October 1972 through October 2003
 
Year1 Event
dropout rate
(percent)
Number of
dropouts
(thousands)
Population
enrolled
(thousands)
 
1972 6.1 616 10,286
1973 6.3 648 10,510
1974 6.7 702 10,675
1975 5.8 618 10,617
1976 5.9 629 10,629
 
1977 6.5 704 10,933
1978 6.7 712 10,816
1979 6.7 711 10,695
1980 6.1 623 10,554
1981 5.9 605 10,471
 
1982 5.5 552 10,082
1983 5.2 502 9,911
1984 5.1 480 9,573
1985 5.2 479 9,382
1986 4.7 441 9,651
 
1987 4.1 405 9,620
1988 4.8 462 9,467
1989 4.5 403 9,001
1990 4.0 347 8,675
1991 4.1 348 8,700
 
1992 4.4 383 8,705
1993 4.5 381 8,469
1994 5.3 497 9,377
1995 5.7 544 9,509
1996 5.0 485 9,612
 
1997 4.6 454 9,984
1998 4.8 479 10,079
1999 5.0 519 10,464
2000 4.8 488 10,126
2001 5.0 505 10,187
 
2002 3.6 367 10,254
2003 4.0 429 10,698
1 Estimates beginning in 1987 reflect new editing procedures for cases with missing data on school enrollment items. Estimates beginning in 1992 reflect new wording of the educational attainment item. Estimates beginning in 1994 reflect changes due to newly instituted computer-assisted interviewing. For details about changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS) over time, please see Kaufman, Alt, and Chapman (2004).

NOTE: The event dropout rate indicates percentage of youth ages 15 through 24 who dropped out of grades 10–12 between one October and the next (e.g., October 2002 to October 2003). Dropping out is defined as leaving school without a high school diploma or equivalent credential such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey (CPS), October (1972–2003).

Back Arrow List of Tables Download Excel Excel format (22 KB) Download Excel(se) Excel format (22 KB)  

1990 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006, USA
Phone: (202) 502-7300 (map)