Dropout Rate Increases In Area Schools

By Amber Lester Saturday, October 02, 2010

The dropout rate in both Williamsburg-James City County and York County schools increased for students expected to graduate in 2010, according to numbers released Thursday by the Virginia Department of Education.

At the same time, more students completed high school on time in Williamsburg-James City County in 2010 than in 2009. In York County, the completion rate declined by a little more than 1 percent.

VDOE tracks cohorts – groups of students – from their freshman through their senior years. The numbers reflect transfers and dropouts within each four-year span, allowing the education department to get a clearer picture of dropout rates, which now count toward schools’ accreditation. VDOE released its first cohort report in 2008.

The numbers reflect on-time graduation rates, dropout rates and completion rates, which count students earning a regular diploma or G.E.D. The data includes comparisons with statewide numbers and provides statistics for each racial and socioeconomic group in an effort to identify which groups might need more attention.

In both of the Historic Triangle divisions, the number of students in the cohort for 2006-2010 increased. WJCC’s cohort for 2010 had 852 students, three more than the previous cohort. York County’s cohort for 2010 had 1,094 students, an increase of six students.

Overall, WJCC had an 83.2 percent on-time graduation rate, compared to the previous cohort’s 82.33 percent graduation rate. The district’s completion rate was 88.1 percent, a 0.7 percent gain from the previous cohort.

The dropout rate increased from 7.77 percent in 2009 to 8.2 percent in 2010. In the 2009 cohort, 66 students dropped out of school; in 2010, 77 students dropped out. Among the three high schools, Lafayette High School had the highest dropout rate, with 10.4 percent of students in the cohort failing to graduate.

For the second year in the row, more Hispanic students in the division graduated on time, but the dropout rate increased, as well, from 15.6 percent to 22.6 percent. The percentage of students with disabilities who dropped out doubled, from 6 percent in 2009 to 12.2 percent in 2010. Thirty of the 77 students who dropped out were white.

In York County, 91.7 percent of the 2010 cohort graduated on time; 93.1 percent completed on time. York County’s dropout rate went up, however, from 2.9 percent in 2009 to 4.5 percent in 2010. The number of dropouts rose from 32 to 49 in 2010; the majority were white and economically disadvantaged.

York County schools saw an improvement in the on-time graduation rate for black students, from 84.2 percent to 87.9 percent. The graduation rates for the other subgroups went down within 1 to 2 percentage points.

Across the state, 85.5 percent of students graduated, a rise of two points from the rate of 83.3 percent for the class of 2009. The statewide dropout rate was 8.2 percent; Hispanic student made up the majority of dropouts.

To learn more about the cohort of 2010, check the reports here.