Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It

by Russell W. Rumberger

Overview

The vast majority of kids in the developed world finish high school—but not in the United States. More than a million kids drop out every year, around 7,000 a day, and the numbers are rising. Dropping Out offers a comprehensive overview by one of the country’s leading experts, and provides answers to fundamental questions: Who drops out, and why? What happens to them when they do? How can we prevent at-risk kids from short-circuiting their futures?

Students start disengaging long before they get to high school, and the consequences are severe—not just for individuals but for the larger society and economy. Dropouts never catch up with high school graduates on any measure. They are less likely to find work at all, and more likely to live in poverty, commit crimes, and suffer health problems. Even life expectancy for dropouts is shorter by seven years than for those who earn a diploma.

Russell Rumberger advocates targeting the most vulnerable students as far back as the early elementary grades. And he levels sharp criticism at the conventional definition of success as readiness for college. He argues that high schools must offer all students what they need to succeed in the workplace and independent adult life. A more flexible and practical definition of achievement—one in which a high school education does not simply qualify you for more school—can make school make sense to young people. And maybe keep them there.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674066564
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	11/19/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Russell W. Rumberger is Vice Provost for Educational Partnerships at the University of California Office of the President and Professor of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

1 Introduction 1

2 The Varying Requirements and Pathways for Completing High School 20

The Conflicting Coals of High School 21

The Requirements for Completing High School 28

Diploma Requirements 28

Alternative Credentials 35

Alternative Pathways to High School Completion 36

Tracking 36

Segregation 39

Alternative Schools 42

Other Options 45

3 The Nature and Extent of the Dropout Crisis 47

What Does It Mean to Drop Out of School? 47

The Difficulty of Identifying Dropouts 49

Student Mobility 52

Reenrollment 54

The Debate over Dropout and Graduation Rates 55

Measuring Dropout arid Graduation Rates 59

Alternative Definitions 59

The Need for Accurate Data 60

Competing Measures 66

The Promise and Reality of Longitudinal Data 73

The Vast Differences in Dropout and Graduation Rates 78

Demographic Differences 78

Differences among Schools, Districts, and States 78

Trends in Dropout and Graduation Rates 81

International Comparisons 84

4 The Individual Consequences of Dropping Out 86

Labor Market Outcomes 88

Crime 95

Family Formation 101

Health 110

Civic Engagement 117

Well-Being 119

Intergenerational Mobility 120

5 The Social Consequences of Dropping Out 130

Consequences for the Economy 132

Consequences for the Larger Society 134

Crime 134

Welfare 136

Health 137

Civic Engagement 138

Total Economic Losses from Dropouts 139

6 Understanding Why Students Drop Out 143

The Process of Dropping Out 145

Alternative Models of Dropping Out 145

The Role of Engagement 151

The Role of Context 153

A Conceptual Framework of the Dropout Process 154

The Reasons Students Report for Dropping Out 156

7 Predictors of Dropping Out 159

Individual Predictors of Dropping Out 160

Educational Performance 160

Behaviors 169

Attitudes 178

Background 181

Combining Factors 185

Institutional Predictors of Dropping Out 187

Families 188

Schools 193

Communities 199

Explaining Racial and Ethnic Differences in Dropout Rates 201

8 Learning from Past Efforts to Solve the Dropout Crisis 207

Alternative Approaches to Improving Dropout and Graduation Rates 208

Targeted Approaches 208

Comprehensive Approaches 210

Systemic Approaches 214

What Works? 215

Judging Scientific Evidence 217

Identifying Effective Strategies 221

Early Inverventions 228

Systemic Interventions 229

Costs and Benefits 233

What Have We Learned from Large-Scale Reform Efforts? 234

High School Graduation Initiative 235

Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Program 236

California's High Priority Schools Grant Program 237

New American Schools 238

Gates High School Grants Initiative 240

New Futures 242

New York City's Small School Initiative 243

Lessons Learned 244

Implications 252

9 What Should Be Done to Solve the Dropout Crisis 255

Current Efforts 256

National 256

State 261

Local 264

Are Current Efforts Enough? 266

Moving Beyond Current Efforts 269

Redefining High School Success 269

Changing Accountability Systems to Provide Incentives to Educate All Students 272

Building Capacity of the Educational System 273

Desegregating Schools 274

Strengthening Families and Communities 274

Notes 279

Index 371

Editorial Reviews

[Dropping Out] is not only definitive, but positively masterful in its treatment of a vitally important subject… Russell Rumberger’s prescriptions, if heeded, would be truly revolutionary. This fact alone should make this volume required reading for any serious student of school reform. His treatment is exhaustive, his writing style energizing, his message urgent and his analysis powerful. I recommend it highly.

Education Next - A. Graham Down

The most complete examination of the dropout issue I have ever seen [is] Russell W. Rumberger’s Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It… Rumberger examines every complex nuance, summarizes every important research paper and demolishes every Internet myth. His book is a masterpiece, something education wonks will keep close by… We can’t make any improvements, however, without knowing what hasn’t helped dropouts, and why. On those vital questions, this book will be the best resource for years to come.

Jay Mathews

Russell Rumberger’s Dropping Out is the most thorough and timely analysis now available of the complex causes and terrible consequences of dropping out of high school. Rumberger provides teachers, administrators, and policymakers with essential knowledge to address a continuing crisis. Dropping Out demonstrates again the necessity of education in an information age economy, and shows how increasing high school graduation rates will be essential for local, state, and national economic strength.

Bob Wise

The book is superb. It is erudite, scholarly, engaging, and provocative… [Rumberger] works his way patiently through the familial, organizational, and individual characteristics that influence dropping out. He then walks us through the nature, consequences, causes, and possible solutions… Rumberger calls upon all methodologies and various strands of programs to consider what possible solutions might look like. He is someone who is big on accountability, and consistent in the observation that systemic change will take time. He recognizes that students may drop out of a school, but much of the work to lessen dropping out will occur with families and in communities.

21st Century Scholar - Bill Tierney

[A] sobering look at one aspect of many crises facing U.S. schools. Drawing on both education policy and economics, [Rumberger] explores the cost of this crisis to the dropouts and American society in terms of higher unemployment, lower wages, and less of a contribution to the tax base.

Booklist - Vanessa Bush

The standard work on one of the most troubling challenges in U.S. education—beautifully written, authoritative, and insightful, covering everything from the causes of dropping out to effective solutions.

Henry M. Levin

Dropouts have little future in the American economy, but about half of Latino and Black men are leaving school without the diplomas they need. Russ Rumberger has devoted his career to this issue and he powerfully documents the costs of dropouts to our society. This comprehensive book is an essential resource for reform.

Gary Orfield

Russ Rumberger has written the definitive book on school dropouts. His learned analysis leads to recommendations for action to address this crisis.

Jack Jennings

[Dropping Out] is not only definitive, but positively masterful in its treatment of a vitally important subject...Russell Rumberger's prescriptions, if heeded, would be truly revolutionary. This fact alone should make this volume required reading for any serious student of school reform. His treatment is exhaustive, his writing style energizing, his message urgent and his analysis powerful. I recommend it highly.
— A. Graham Down

Education Next

The most complete examination of the dropout issue I have ever seen [is] Russell W. Rumberger's Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It...Rumberger examines every complex nuance, summarizes every important research paper and demolishes every Internet myth. His book is a masterpiece, something education wonks will keep close by...We can't make any improvements, however, without knowing what hasn't helped dropouts, and why. On those vital questions, this book will be the best resource for years to come.
— Jay Mathews

Washington Post

[A] sobering look at one aspect of many crises facing U.S. schools. Drawing on both education policy and economics, [Rumberger] explores the cost of this crisis to the dropouts and American society in terms of higher unemployment, lower wages, and less of a contribution to the tax base.
— Vanessa Bush

Booklist

The most complete examination of the dropout issue I have ever seen [is] Russell W. Rumberger's Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It...Rumberger examines every complex nuance, summarizes every important research paper and demolishes every Internet myth. His book is a masterpiece, something education wonks will keep close by...We can't make any improvements, however, without knowing what hasn't helped dropouts, and why. On those vital questions, this book will be the best resource for years to come.

Washington Post - Jay Mathews

The most complete examination of the dropout issue I have ever seen [is] Russell W. Rumberger’s Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It… Rumberger examines every complex nuance, summarizes every important research paper and demolishes every Internet myth. His book is a masterpiece, something education wonks will keep close by… We can’t make any improvements, however, without knowing what hasn’t helped dropouts, and why. On those vital questions, this book will be the best resource for years to come.
— Jay Mathews Washington Post

The book is superb. It is erudite, scholarly, engaging, and provocative… [Rumberger] works his way patiently through the familial, organizational, and individual characteristics that influence dropping out. He then walks us through the nature, consequences, causes, and possible solutions… Rumberger calls upon all methodologies and various strands of programs to consider what possible solutions might look like. He is someone who is big on accountability, and consistent in the observation that systemic change will take time. He recognizes that students may drop out of a school, but much of the work to lessen dropping out will occur with families and in communities.
— Bill Tierney 21st Century Scholar

[Dropping Out] is not only definitive, but positively masterful in its treatment of a vitally important subject… Russell Rumberger’s prescriptions, if heeded, would be truly revolutionary. This fact alone should make this volume required reading for any serious student of school reform. His treatment is exhaustive, his writing style energizing, his message urgent and his analysis powerful. I recommend it highly.
— A. Graham Down Education Next

[A] sobering look at one aspect of many crises facing U.S. schools. Drawing on both education policy and economics, [Rumberger] explores the cost of this crisis to the dropouts and American society in terms of higher unemployment, lower wages, and less of a contribution to the tax base.
— Vanessa Bush Booklist

The standard work on one of the most troubling challenges in U.S. education—beautifully written, authoritative, and insightful, covering everything from the causes of dropping out to effective solutions.
— Henry M. Levin, Columbia University

Dropouts have little future in the American economy, but about half of Latino and Black men are leaving school without the diplomas they need. Russ Rumberger has devoted his career to this issue and he powerfully documents the costs of dropouts to our society. This comprehensive book is an essential resource for reform.
— Gary Orfield, University of California, Los Angeles

Russ Rumberger has written the definitive book on school dropouts. His learned analysis leads to recommendations for action to address this crisis.
— Jack Jennings, President and CEO, Center on Education Policy

Russell Rumberger’s Dropping Out is the most thorough and timely analysis now available of the complex causes and terrible consequences of dropping out of high school. Rumberger provides teachers, administrators, and policymakers with essential knowledge to address a continuing crisis. Dropping Out demonstrates again the necessity of education in an information age economy, and shows how increasing high school graduation rates will be essential for local, state, and national economic strength.
— Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

From the Publisher