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NDPC/N > Statistics

Statistics and Facts

We are frequently asked for statistics or facts about K-12 dropouts. Below are some links to useful information:

• Dropout Statistic Resources
• Quick Facts
• Who's At Risk?
• Effective Strategies for Dropout Prevention

Featured Resources

• Dropout Rates in the United States: 2004  (PDF, 311 KB)
  U.S. Department of Education

  This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of rates for 2004, and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972-2004), including characteristics of dropouts and completers in these years. Among other findings, the report shows that in students living in low-income families were approximately four times more likely to drop out of high school between 2003 and 2004 than were their peers from high-income families. Focusing on indicators of on-time graduation from public high schools, the averaged freshman graduation rate for the 3 most recent years for which data are available shows an increase from 72.6 percent for 2001-02 to 73.9 percent for 2002-03 to 74.3 percent for 2003-04.

• Compulsory School Age Attendance Requirements
  ECS StateNotes, 2006
• Selected Facts & Statistics (2005)  (PDF, 188 KB)

  This document may be reproduced, but credit must be given to
  the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network.

• Who's Counted? Who's Counting? Understanding High School Graduation Rates (2006)  (PDF, 3.8 MB)
  Alliance for Excellent Education

  This report explains the reasons why so many different graduation rate formulas and statistics exist, addresses why states report them differently, discusses the limitations and benefits of each method, and—most importantly—defines the policy changes needed to assure that educators, school officials, parents, and the public receive timely and accurate information about how many students are actually graduating so that they can assess their schools' current effectiveness and make improvements.

Publications linked from this page are in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), and the free Adobe Reader is required to view these documents. The Reader can be downloaded directly from www.adobe.com.

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