This survey of young people who left high school without graduating suggests that, despite career aspirations that require education beyond high school and a majority having grades of a C or better, circumstances in students’ lives and an inadequate response to those circumstances from the schools led to dropping out. While reasons var y, the general categories remain the same, whether in inner city Los Angeles or suburban Nebraska.

Why Students Drop Out
There is no single reason why students drop out of high school. Respondents report different reasons: a lack of connection to the school environment; a perception that school is boring; feeling unmotivated; academic challenges; and the weight of real world events. But indications are strong that these barriers to graduation are not insurmountable.

Nearly half (47 percent) said a major reason for dropping out was that classes were not inter¬esting. These young people reported being bored and disengaged from high school. Almost as many (42 percent) spent time with people who were not interested in school. These were among the top reasons selected by those with high GPAs and by those who said they were motivated to work hard.

Nearly 7 in 10 respondents (69 percent) said they were not motivated or inspired to work hard, 80 percent did one hour or less of home¬work each day in high school, two¬thirds would have worked harder if more was demanded of them (higher academic standards and more studying and homework), and 70 percent were confident they could have graduated if they had tried. Even a majority of those with low GPAs thought they could have graduated.

Many students gave personal reasons for leaving school. A third (32 percent) said they had to get a job and make money; 26 percent said they became a parent; and 22 percent said they had to care for a family member. Many of these young people repor ted doing reasonably well in school and had a strong belief that they could have graduated if they had stayed in school. These students also were the most likely to say they would have worked harder if their schools had demanded more of them and provided the necessar y support.

It is clear that some dropouts, but not the majority, leave school because of significant academic challenges.

Thirty¬five percent said that “failing in school” was a major factor for dropping out; three out of ten said they could not keep up with school¬work; and 43 percent said they missed too many days of school and could not catch up.
nForty¬five percent said they started high school poorly prepared by their earlier schooling. Many of these students likely fell behind in elemen¬tar y and middle school and could not make up the necessary ground. They reported that addi¬tional suppor ts in high school that would have made a difference (such as tutoring or after school help) were not there.

Thirty¬two percent were required to repeat a grade before dropping out and twenty¬nine percent expressed significant doubts that they could have met their high school’s requirements for graduation even if they had put in the necessary effort. The most academically challenged students were the most likely to report that their schools were not doing enough to help students when they had trouble learning and to express doubt about whether they would have worked harder if more had been expected of them.

Executive Summary
As complex as these individual circumstances may be, for almost all young people, dropping out of high school is not a sudden act, but a gradual process of disengagement; attendance patterns are a clear early sign.
nFifty¬nine to 65 percent of respondents missed class often the year before dropping out.

Students described a pattern of refusing to wake up, skipping class, and taking three hour lunches; each absence made them less willing to go back. These students had long periods of absences and were sometimes referred to the truant officer, only to be brought back to the same environment that led them to become disengaged.

Thirty¬eight percent believed they had “too much freedom” and not enough rules. As students grew older, they had more freedom and more options, which led some away from class or the school building. It was often too easy to skip class or engage in activities outside of school.

For those students who dropped out, the level of proactive parental involvement in their education was low.

Fifty¬nine percent of parents or guardians of respondents were involved in their child’s schooling, with only one¬fifth (21 percent) “ver y” involved. More than half of those parents or guardians who were involved at all were involved mainly for discipline reasons.

Sixtyeight percent of respondents said their parents became more involved only when they were aware that their child was on the verge of dropping out. The majority of parents were “not aware” or “just somewhat aware” of their child’s grades or that they were about to leave school.

In hindsight, young people who dropped out of school almost universally expressed great remorse for having left high school and expressed strong interest in re¬entering school with students their age.

As adults, the overwhelming majority of poll par¬ticipants (81 percent) said that graduating from high school was important to success in life.
nThree¬fourths (74 percent) said that if they were able to relive the experience, they would have stayed in school and 76 percent said they would definitely or probably re¬enroll in a high school for people their age if they could.

Forty¬seven percent would say that not having a diploma makes it hard to find a good job. They wished they had listened to those who warned them of problems associated with dropping out, or that such voices had been more persistent.