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Why Students Drop Out
Why Students Drop Out
Bridgeland, DiIulio, and Morison (2006) interviewed high school dropouts to find out why they
didn't finish school.
Percentage of NELS:88 8th to 10th grade dropouts who reported that various reasons for
dropping out of school applied to them.
| Reason |
Total |
Male |
Female |
| School Related: |
| Did not like school |
51.2 |
57.8 |
44.2 |
| Could not get along with teachers |
35.0 |
51.6 |
17.2 |
| Could not get along with students |
20.1 |
18.3 |
21.9 |
| Was suspended too often |
16.1 |
19.2 |
12.7 |
| Did not feel safe at school |
12.1 |
11.5 |
12.8 |
| Was expelled |
13.4 |
17.6 |
8.9 |
| Felt I didn't belong |
23.2 |
31.5 |
14.4 |
| Could not keep up with school work |
31.3 |
37.6 |
24.7 |
| Was failing school |
39.9 |
46.2 |
33.1 |
| Changed school, didn't like new one |
13.2 |
10.8 |
15.8 |
| Job Related: |
| Couldn't work and go to school at same time |
14.1 |
20.0 |
7.8 |
| Had to get a job |
15.3 |
14.7 |
16.0 |
| Found a job |
15.3 |
18.6 |
|
| Family Related: |
| Had to support family |
9.2 |
4.8 |
14.0 |
| Wanted to have family |
6.2 |
4.2 |
8.4 |
| Was pregnant |
31.0 |
|
31.0 |
| Became pregnant |
13.6 |
5.1 |
22.6 |
| Got married |
13.1 |
3.4 |
23.6 |
| Had to care for family member |
8.3 |
4.6 |
12.2 |
| Other: |
| Wanted to travel |
2.1 |
2.5 |
1.7 |
| Friends dropped out |
14.1 |
16.8 |
11.3 |
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DATA SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88)
First Followup Study, 1990.
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Reference
Bridgeland, J.M., DiIulio, J.J., & Morison, K.B. (2006).
The silent epidemic.
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National Dropout Prevention Center/Network
