Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2008

NCES 2011-012 December 2010

Table 8. Status dropout rates of 16- through 24-year-olds, by sex and race/ethnicity: October 1972 through October 2008

			Sex (percent)			Race/ethnicity (percent)1
Year2	Total (percent)		Male	Female		White, non- Hispanic	Black, non- Hispanic	Hispanic
1972	14.6		14.1	15.1		12.3	21.3	34.3
1973	14.1		13.7	14.5		11.6	22.2	33.5
1974	14.3		14.2	14.4		11.9	21.2	33.0
1975	13.9		13.3	14.5		11.4	22.9	29.2
1976	14.1		14.1	14.2		12.0	20.5	31.4
1977	14.1		14.5	13.8		11.9	19.8	33.0
1978	14.2		14.6	13.9		11.9	20.2	33.3
1979	14.6		15.0	14.2		12.0	21.1	33.8
1980	14.1		15.1	13.1		11.4	19.1	35.2
1981	13.9		15.1	12.8		11.4	18.4	33.2
1982	13.9		14.5	13.3		11.4	18.4	31.7
1983	13.7		14.9	12.5		11.2	18.0	31.6
1984	13.1		14.0	12.3		11.0	15.5	29.8
1985	12.6		13.4	11.8		10.4	15.2	27.6
1986	12.2		13.1	11.4		9.7	14.2	30.1
1987	12.7		13.3	12.2		10.4	14.1	28.6
1988	12.9		13.5	12.2		9.6	14.5	35.8
1989	12.6		13.6	11.7		9.4	13.9	33.0
1990	12.1		12.3	11.8		9.0	13.2	32.4
1991	12.5		13.0	11.9		8.9	13.6	35.3
1992	11.0		11.3	10.7		7.7	13.7	29.4
1993	11.0		11.2	10.9		7.9	13.6	27.5
1994	11.5		12.3	10.6		7.7	12.6	30.0
1995	12.0		12.2	11.7		8.6	12.1	30.0
1996	11.1		11.4	10.9		7.3	13.0	29.4
1997	11.0		11.9	10.1		7.6	13.4	25.3
1998	11.8		13.3	10.3		7.7	13.8	29.5
1999	11.2		11.9	10.5		7.3	12.6	28.6
2000	10.9		12.0	9.9		6.9	13.1	27.8
2001	10.7		12.2	9.3		7.3	10.9	27.0
2002	10.5		11.8	9.2		6.5	11.3	25.7
2003	9.9		11.3	8.4		6.3	10.9	23.5
2004	10.3		11.6	9.0		6.8	11.8	23.8
2005	9.4		10.8	8.0		6.0	10.4	22.4
2006	9.3		10.3	8.3		5.8	10.7	22.1
2007	8.7		9.8	7.7		5.3	8.4	21.4
2008	8.0		8.5	7.5		4.8	9.9	18.3
1 Beginning in 2003, respondents were able to identify themselves as being “more than one race.” The 2003 through 2008 White, non-Hispanic and Black, non-Hispanic categories consist of individuals who considered themselves to be one race and who did not identify as Hispanic. The Hispanic category includes Hispanics of all races and racial combinations. Due to small sample sizes for some or all of the years shown in the table, American Indians/Alaska Natives and Asians/Pacific Islanders are included in the totals but not shown separately. The “more than one race” category is also included in the total in 2003 through 2008 but not shown separately due to small sample size. 2 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, P., Alt, M.N., and Chapman, C. (2004). Dropout Rates in the United States: 2001 (NCES 2005-046). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. NOTE: The status dropout rate indicates the percentage of 16- through 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in high school and who lack a high school credential. High school credentials include high school diplomas and equivalent credentials, such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October 1972–2008.