Missoula Measures - High School Completion
- Related Data
- Brief Background
- Who's at risk for dropping out?
- GEDs
- Alternative Learning
- College Bound
- Test Scores
- Related Measures
- Related Websites
Why this topic?
Our community goal is for kids to be successful in school, and for schools to be supportive of success for a wide range of learning styles and needs. Success in school suggests that a young person’s life has some focus; successfully negotiating high school suggests that a teenager will be more capable of functioning effectively in the wider world.
High school completion is only one of many measures that can help tell us about how well our schools serve students — in this case, about how well they serve students with challenges. But high school completion by itself doesn’t tell us much. No one measure can fully reflect school quality. Other information would help us fill in the picture. Is the curriculum and structure meaningful and relevant to kids? Do kids feel safe and valued? Are policies and programs in place to help kids learn and grow through personal and educational problems? Do schools nurture creativity and critical thinking? If the answer to these kinds of questions is yes, kids will be more likely to remain in school to graduate.
How are we doing?
Better. Steady improvement over the last 10 years. Also, fewer residents over 25 have only a high school education or less, and more have college degrees.
Indicator
Source: Missoula County Public Schools
Related Data
Missoula County
Source: US Census 2000
Brief Background
Who’s at risk for dropping out?
Studies indicate that the chances of dropping out are higher for minority students and for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. But a 1989 analysis of dropout studies indicates that, nationally, 66% of dropouts are white, 68% come from two-parent families, 60% have C averages or better, and 71% have never failed a grade. (Dropout Rates in the United States, U.S. Dept. of Education 1990)
Small schools tend to have lower dropout rates, which is credited partly to the personal attention possible in small schools, and partly to the lack of options for a teenager in a small town. Frenchtown reported a phenomenally low 1% dropout rate for 1995-1996, while the average for schools its size was 3.9%. (OPI)
The reasons for dropping out are varied, but statistics gathered by Missoula Basic Adult Education in indicated that:
- 16% dropped out due to lack of family support
- 10% for lack of helpful teachers
- 7% needed to earn money to help support their families
- 8% left school when they had a baby
GEDs
In the 1995-1996 school year, the entire state recorded about 2900 dropouts and issued GEDs to 1164 people from 16 to 19 years old. About 12% of everyone in Montana taking the GED was American Indian.
Of the GED students at Missoula Basic Adult Education, 26% had been out of school for less than 1 year; 30% for 1-3 years; 23% for 4-10 years.
NOTE: Number of tests administered in 2000 and 2001 reflect a reaction to a change in testing procedure that went into effect in Jan. 2002. Due to a system glitch, statistics for 1998 and 1999 are not available.
Source: Missoula Adult Education
Between 2001-2004, the UM College of Technology admitted about 15-25 GED students each year, about 1/2 of their GED applicants. This represents less than 1% of total applicants and enrollees.
Alternative Learning
As of 2001, Missoula County Public Schools has 3 different programs to help marginal students stay in school: Independent Study Program; Alternative High School; and Rebound.
Home Schooling: In the MCPS district in 1996-1997, 67 elementary school kids and 25 high school kids were home schooled, compared to 56 and 15 the year before that. In 1996-1997, 754 Missoula elementary kids and 410 high school kids were in private schools, compared to 744 and 380 in the previous year. (OPI)
College bound?
About 65% of MCPS students go on to college. The national rate is 50%. (MCPS Shareholder’s Report, Fall 1996) Nationally, about 50% of those starting college actually complete a bachelor’s degree. In Missoula the average is 70%. (MCPS)
Test Scores
As usual, Missoula County students scored higher than the national and state averages on the SAT tests for the 1996-1997 school year. This is partly because fewer students here take the test (22% statewide versus 42% nationally), and those taking it tend to be the top students. But this is true of several states besides Montana, and of the states with higher average scores, Montana had the highest percentage of test takers. (Missoulian, August 27, 1997) Whenever test scores are compared, we need to remember how closely they are tied to the socioeconomic status and education levels of the children’s households.
Related Measures
BASIC NEEDS, ACTIVE MISSOULA, CHILDREN, YOUTH, and FAMILIES
Related Websites
Kid Count - Reducing school dropout rates
Reducing the Dropout Rate Through Vocational Education
