Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 219.73. Percentage of high school dropouts among persons 16 to 24 years old (status dropout rate) and number and percentage distribution of 16- to 24-year-olds, by selected characteristics: Selected years, 2005 through 2015
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected characteristic Status dropout rate1 2015
Number of 16- to 24-year-olds (in thousands) Percentage distribution of 16- to 24-year-olds
2005 2010 2014 2015 Total population2 Status dropouts only3 Total population2 Status dropouts only3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Total 9.4   (0.22) 7.4   (0.27) 6.5   (0.25) 5.9   (0.26) 38,491   (66.4) 2,254   (99.1) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†)
Sex                                                
Male 10.8   (0.33) 8.5   (0.40) 7.1   (0.37) 6.3   (0.37) 19,392   (58.4) 1,220   (70.8) 50.4   (0.11) 54.1   (2.00)
Female 8.0   (0.29) 6.3   (0.28) 5.9   (0.29) 5.4   (0.33) 19,099   (51.5) 1,034   (63.3) 49.6   (0.11) 45.9   (2.00)
                                                 
Race/ethnicity                                                
White 6.0   (0.23) 5.1   (0.30) 5.2   (0.32) 4.6   (0.29) 21,161   (80.4) 965   (61.5) 55.0   (0.19) 42.8   (2.25)
Black 10.4   (0.66) 8.0   (0.76) 7.4   (0.74) 6.5   (0.70) 5,502   (54.0) 356   (38.2) 14.3   (0.14) 15.8   (1.50)
Hispanic 22.4   (0.87) 15.1   (0.87) 10.6   (0.68) 9.2   (0.71) 8,412   (32.5) 771   (59.8) 21.9   (0.08) 34.2   (2.03)
Asian 2.7   (0.66) 4.1   (1.03) 1.0 ! (0.35) 3.4   (0.85) 1,977   (35.7) 68   (16.8) 5.1   (0.09) 3.0   (0.73)
Pacific Islander   (†)   (†) 12.1 ! (6.05)   (†) 181   (30.2)   (†) 0.5   (0.08)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native 14.0   (3.31) 12.4   (3.43) 15.7   (3.02) 14.4   (3.75) 298   (37.4) 43   (11.3) 0.8   (0.10) 1.9   (0.49)
Two or more races 8.2   (1.63) 5.4   (1.34) 2.7   (0.80) 4.5   (1.16) 960   (43.2) 43   (11.2) 2.5   (0.11) 1.9   (0.50)
                                                 
Race/ethnicity by sex                                                
Male                                                
White 6.6   (0.34) 5.9   (0.42) 5.7   (0.42) 5.0   (0.40) 10,715   (58.5) 534   (43.4) 55.3   (0.25) 43.7   (2.86)
Black 12.0   (1.02) 9.5   (1.11) 7.1   (1.02) 6.4   (1.04) 2,703   (49.2) 174   (28.2) 13.9   (0.23) 14.2   (1.97)
Hispanic 26.4   (1.26) 17.3   (1.24) 11.8   (1.04) 9.9   (0.93) 4,280   (29.2) 424   (40.2) 22.1   (0.16) 34.7   (2.56)
Asian 2.8 ! (0.93) 3.6 ! (1.32) 1.9 ! (0.66) 4.0   (1.13) 985   (26.7) 40   (11.3) 5.1   (0.14) 3.3   (0.92)
Pacific Islander   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 91   (18.7)   (†) 0.5   (0.10)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native 16.6   (4.96) 10.6 ! (4.52) 13.7   (3.48) 14.4 ! (5.86) 164   (23.9) 24 ! (9.8) 0.8   (0.12) 1.9 ! (0.80)
Two or more races 8.3   (2.37)   (†) 4.1 ! (1.45) 4.5 ! (1.80) 455   (25.0) 21 ! (8.2) 2.3   (0.13) 1.7 ! (0.67)
Female                                                
White 5.3   (0.31) 4.2   (0.35) 4.8   (0.41) 4.1   (0.37) 10,446   (46.8) 432   (38.7) 54.7   (0.25) 41.7   (3.16)
Black 9.0   (0.86) 6.7   (0.85) 7.7   (1.02) 6.5   (0.98) 2,799   (57.2) 182   (28.1) 14.7   (0.28) 17.6   (2.46)
Hispanic 18.1   (1.16) 12.8   (0.97) 9.3   (0.84) 8.4   (0.97) 4,132   (27.0) 347   (40.2) 21.6   (0.16) 33.6   (3.08)
Asian 2.7 ! (0.94) 4.5 ! (1.40)   (†) 2.8 ! 1.0 992   (21.0) 28.1 ! 10.0 5.2   (0.11) 2.7 ! (0.95)
Pacific Islander   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 90   (19.7)   (†) 0.5   (0.10)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native 11.3 ! (4.33) 14.2 ! (5.25) 18.1   (4.01) 14.3 ! (4.53) 135   (20.3) 19 ! (6.0) 0.7   (0.11) 1.9 ! (0.58)
Two or more races 8.2   (2.26) 8.2   (2.41) 1.5 ! (0.72) 4.4 ! (1.80) 505   (30.2) 22 ! (9.2) 2.6   (0.16) 2.1 ! (0.89)
                                                 
Family income4                                                
Lowest quarter 17.9   (0.60) 13.8   (0.83) 11.6   (0.68) 9.9   (0.69) 9,026   (205.4) 897   (63.7) 23.5   (0.53) 39.8   (2.34)
Middle low quarter 11.5   (0.51) 8.9   (0.54) 7.6   (0.57) 7.4   (0.60) 9,493   (194.4) 700   (59.8) 24.7   (0.50) 31.0   (2.10)
Middle high quarter 7.1   (0.39) 5.1   (0.48) 4.7   (0.43) 4.3   (0.39) 9,362   (205.1) 405   (37.5) 24.3   (0.53) 18.0   (1.53)
Highest quarter 2.7   (0.23) 2.5   (0.31) 2.8   (0.31) 2.4   (0.31) 10,610   (214.4) 253   (33.0) 27.6   (0.56) 11.2   (1.39)
                                                 
Age                                                
16 2.5   (0.34) 2.0   (0.33) 5.2   (0.62) 4.6   (0.60) 4,329   (53.7) 201   (26.0) 11.2   (0.14) 8.9   (1.09)
17 4.4   (0.45) 3.5   (0.43) 5.2   (0.67) 3.3   (0.45) 4,125   (52.1) 136   (18.6) 10.7   (0.14) 6.0   (0.76)
18 8.1   (0.65) 6.8   (0.72) 7.0   (0.72) 7.0   (0.77) 4,112   (47.2) 287   (32.0) 10.7   (0.12) 12.7   (1.26)
19 9.4   (0.69) 7.9   (0.79) 7.2   (0.76) 8.0   (0.83) 4,046   (45.8) 324   (33.2) 10.5   (0.12) 14.4   (1.32)
20 to 24 12.3   (0.34) 9.3   (0.37) 6.8   (0.33) 6.0   (0.32) 21,879   (64.5) 1,306   (70.7) 56.8   (0.08) 57.9   (2.04)
                                                 
Recency of immigration5                                                
Born outside the United States                                                
Hispanic 38.5   (1.64) 27.6   (2.03) 22.0   (2.04) 17.4   (1.89) 1,675   (87.1) 291   (34.1) 4.4   (0.23) 12.9   (1.43)
Non-Hispanic 4.8   (0.86) 6.4   (1.20) 3.6   (0.93) 4.7   (1.05) 1,893   (105.4) 89   (20.7) 4.9   (0.27) 4.0   (0.92)
First generation                                                
Hispanic 13.3   (1.27) 9.3   (0.89) 6.8   (0.86) 6.1   (0.87) 3,741   (102.8) 229   (33.4) 9.7   (0.27) 10.2   (1.35)
Non-Hispanic 3.0   (0.52) 3.7   (0.64) 2.6   (0.60) 2.4   (0.56) 2,782   (99.2) 65   (15.3) 7.2   (0.26) 2.9   (0.67)
Second generation or higher                                                
Hispanic 12.1   (1.21) 11.5   (1.29) 8.6   (1.18) 8.4   (1.15) 2,997   (95.2) 251   (35.3) 7.8   (0.25) 11.1   (1.45)
Non-Hispanic 7.1   (0.23) 5.8   (0.28) 5.9   (0.29) 5.2   (0.29) 25,404   (137.9) 1,328   (74.2) 66.0   (0.35) 58.9   (2.17)
                                                 
Disability6                                                
With a disability   (†) 17.3   (1.73) 13.9   (1.59) 12.6   (1.38) 1,542   (77.0) 194   (25.1) 4.0   (0.20) 8.6   (1.09)
Without a disability   (†) 7.0   (0.27) 6.2   (0.24) 5.6   (0.26) 36,949   (102.2) 2,060   (96.3) 96.0   (0.20) 91.4   (1.09)
                                                 
Region                                                
Northeast 6.9   (0.43) 5.8   (0.58) 5.3   (0.54) 4.3   (0.57) 6,607   (140.4) 285   (37.8) 17.2   (0.36) 12.7   (1.58)
Midwest 7.2   (0.39) 6.6   (0.54) 5.4   (0.52) 5.0   (0.55) 8,090   (158.4) 406   (45.0) 21.0   (0.40) 18.0   (1.77)
South 11.5   (0.44) 7.9   (0.49) 7.6   (0.49) 7.0   (0.43) 14,314   (172.8) 1,006   (62.3) 37.2   (0.45) 44.6   (2.09)
West 10.4   (0.52) 8.8   (0.54) 6.8   (0.55) 5.9   (0.49) 9,480   (161.2) 557   (48.2) 24.6   (0.42) 24.7   (1.84)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 30 percent or greater.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 The status dropout rate is the percentage of 16- to 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 alternative credentials, such as a GED certificate.
2 Includes all 16- to 24-year-olds.
3 Status dropouts are 16- to 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 alternative credentials, such as a GED certificate.
4 Lowest quarter refers to the bottom 25 percent of all family incomes; middle low quarter refers to the 26th through the 50th percentile of all family incomes; middle high quarter refers to the 51st through the 75th percentile of all family incomes; and highest quarter refers to the top 25 percent of all family incomes.
5 United States refers to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas. Children born abroad to U.S.-citizen parents are counted as born in the United States. Individuals defined as "first generation" were born in the United States, but one or both of their parents were born outside the United States. Individuals defined as "second generation or higher" were born in the United States, as were both of their parents.
6 Individuals identified as having a disability reported difficulty in at least one of the following: hearing, seeing even when wearing glasses, walking or climbing stairs, dressing or bathing, doing errands alone, concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.
NOTE: Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons in prisons, persons in the military, and other persons not living in households. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and the suppression of cells that do not meet NCES reporting standards. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Beginning in 2010, standard errors were computed using replicate weights, which produced more precise values than the generalized variance function methodology used in prior years.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, 2005 through 2015. (This table was prepared June 2017.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest