Why are so many students dropping out of school?.
Why is the nations drop-out rate steadily increasing? Why are 25% of 9th grade students dropping out before graduating high school. Why are 66% of freshmen fortunate enough to attend college, not returning for their sophomore year? What are the reasons behind this never-ending problem? The common causes to this are enrollment size, grade span, financial reasons, and lack of preparation from the transition of high school to college. .
The term "drop-out" originated in the 1960s, where it "came to mean someone who did not finish high school" (Cutler). It is most often believed that drop-outs are directly related to students who live in "low socioeconomic families or communities" (Alspaugh). Because drop-out rates are linked to the well-being of communities, it is important that those characteristics be identified and their impact on the quality of life within the communities investigated (Alspaugh). Although socioeconomic status plays a strong factor on drop-outs, research has shown a link between drop-outs and school characteristics. School enrollment size plays a factor in drop-out rates. It is apparent that as the attendance center size increases the drop-out rate also increases (Alspaugh). Typically when schools increase in size, the teacher to student ratio also increases. In most cases this distances the student from the teacher. The more students in a class, the less time the teacher can spend on a!.
single student. Studies have shown that schools with a smaller teacher to student ratio have lower drop-out rates. Smaller teacher to student ratios also have shown to have more student participation in class.
Grade span has been found to be another factor in students dropping out. The lowest drop-out rates occur in districts with grade-level organizations of K-6, 7-12 (Alspaugh). The highest rates are found in districts with grade 10-12 high schools (Alspaugh).
