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.
In 2010, Missoula Public Schools instituted the Graduation Matters a long-term, community-wide program aimed at eliminating high school dropouts.
Missoula's Graduation Matters Program
Indicator
Source: Missoula County Public Schools
| Healthy People 2020 Target | ||
| Base | Target | |
| High school graduation rate | 74.9% | 82.4% |
Related Data
Missoula County
Source: US Census 2000
Social problems associated with dropping out of high school
Nationwide statistics regarding young adults age 16-24 and their level of education:
| No HS Diploma | HS Diploma | Some College | College Degree | |
| Employment rate | 46% | 68% | 79% | 87% |
| Mean annual income | $8,358 | $14,601 | $18,283 | $24,797 |
| Single women who are parents | 38% | 30% | 26% | 7% |
| Incarcerated | 6% | 1% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
Center for labor market studies, Northeastern Univ.
Boston, MA, 2008
Note: Mean annual earnings include those with no paid work experience
during the year.
Brief Background
Who is at risk for dropping out
Information that can help understand reasons for dropping out of high school:
- Is the curriculum and structure meaningful and relevant to today’s 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?
- Do students have an educationally nurturing and supportive home life?
- Do students feel good about themselves?
- Are students abusing drugs or alcohol?
- Are students who struggle in elementary school given the special help they need so they don't lag behind their peers?
- Are all teachers motivated and able to engage their students in
learning?
MCPS 2009
Dropout characteristics
Absences, suspensions and course failures as early as the sixth grade increase the chances of dropping out. Data collected from the 3,657 students who dropped out during the 2006-07 school year:
- 77% had failed one or more semester courses in ninth grade
- 61% had missed more than 20 days of school in the year before they dropped out
- Chronic absence in the ninth-grade year was significantly higher among dropouts (60%) than non-dropouts (44%)
-
10% had been
suspended at least once during the two-year period 2005-07
Johns Hopkins University - Native Americans make up 11% of enrollment in high school, yet account for 26% of dropouts. OPI 2010
Other dropout characteristics:
- 88% had passing grades
- 62% had a C average or greater
- 80% spent less than 1 hour on homework each night
- 81% recognized that a high school diploma was vital to success
- 74% said that if they had it to do over, they would have stayed in
school
MT Statewide Dropout Rate and Report, school year 07-08, Office of Public Instruction
The Montana 5-year dropout rate by gender and ethnicity:
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MT Statewide Dropout Rate and Report, school year 07-08, Office of Public Instruction
Most future dropouts may be identified as early as sixth grade and many can be identified even earlier.
More than half of sixth graders with the following three criteria eventually left school: attend school less than 80 percent of the time; receive a low final grade from their teachers in behavior; and fail either math or English.
Eighth-graders who miss five weeks of school or fail math or English have at least a 75 percent chance of dropping out of high school.
Retention in middle grades, and even elementary school, is associated with dropout. For example, one study on dropout determined that 64 percent of students who had repeated a grade in elementary school and 63 percent of those who had been held back in middle school left school without a diploma.
The reasons for dropping out are varied. In Missoula, according to Missoula Basic Adult Education (2009), the most common reasons for dropping out of high school include:
- Social life was more important than school
- Wasn't happy in school / bored
- Emotional / mental health problems
- Drug problems
- Criminal problems
- Trouble with math
- Poor grades or test scores
- Too many absences
- Pregnancy or illness
- Lack of support at home
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.
However, a 1989 national analysis of dropout studies indicates that:
- 66% of dropouts are white
- 68% come from two-parent families
- 60% have C averages or better
- 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. In Missoula, according to Missoula Basic Adult Education, the most common reasons for dropping out of high school include:
- Social life was more important than school
- Wasn't happy in school / bored
- Emotional / mental health problems
- Drug problems
- Criminal problems
- Trouble with math
- Poor grades or test scores
- Too many absences
- Pregnancy or illness
- Lack of support at home
PNA data - 2011 - Missoula Students:
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.
Source: Missoula Adult Education
NOTE: Number of tests administered in 2000 and 2001 reflect a change in
testing procedure that went into effect in 2002.
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
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: An average of 200-250 Missoula kids are home schooled. Of those, about 73% are elementary grades.
Private Schools: In school year 2010-2011, enrollment in private schools included 487 in elementary, 213 in middle school and 291 in high school. Compared to enrollment in public schools, private schools educate about 18% of Missoula County students. OPI
Family Resources - for marginal students.
College bound?
About 53% of MCPS students go on to college. The national rate is 70%. National Student Clearinghouse 2010
Nationally, about 50% of those starting college actually complete a bachelor’s degree. In Missoula the average is 70%. University of Montana 2010
Related Measures
Related Websites
Kids Count - Reducing school dropout rates
Reducing the Dropout Rate Through Vocational Education
