Legislators Address High Hispanic Dropout Rates

Student dropout rates, particularly among Hispanic students, are a great concern to legislators in the Southwest. Nationally, the rate of Hispanic students who don’t finish high school is approximately three times higher than for white students and two times higher than for black students, according to U.S. News and World Report. The Texas Education Agency estimates that 148 students per school day dropped out of Texas schools during the 1996-97 school year.

“The greatest challenge in addressing the high numbers of dropouts is to more accurately define and report ‘dropouts,'” said Maria Robledo Montecel of the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) at a recent Texas roundtable discussion. At the roundtable, members of CPA’s Southwest Policy Leaders Forum discussed ways state legislators can help state agencies refine definitions and reporting of dropouts.

IDRA recommends defining “dropout” as a student who does not receive a high school diploma and for whom the state has no proof of re-enrollment in school. The definition should not include students who (a) are enrolled in GED programs, (b) have completed all courses but have not passed the state achievement test, or (c) are foreign students who return to their home country but are not enrolled in school.

State policy should also:

• set timelines and ambitious goals for reducing drop-out rates
• promote good educational policies, such as lower class sizes and equitable funding, that can contribute to lower drop-out rates, and
• connect drop-out rates and school accountability.