Graduation Rates Rise for Blacks, Whites, Not Latinos

WASHINGTON — While black and white children are graduating from high school in increasing numbers, the dropout rate for Latinos remains an alarmingly high 30%, only slightly less than what it was 25 years ago, according to a government report released Thursday.

Factors traditionally thought to account for the high level of Latinos who don’t complete high school--such as immigrant status and limited English proficiency--do not fully explain the difference in graduation rates between them and their black and white peers, the report added.

The study, compiled by the U.S. Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics, found a high dropout rate persists even among Latino students who were born in the United States and speak English fluently.

Of Latinos ages 16 to 24 who speak English well, 21.4% did not finish high school. Of those who were born in the United States, 17.9% did not finish. While these rates are considerably lower than the overall rate for Latinos, they still are notably higher than the dropout rates of 8.6% for white students and 12.1% for blacks, according to the report.

“This is the puzzle that we’re left with,” said Marilyn McMillen, the report’s author. “Why are Hispanic dropout rates still high?”

Dropout rates can be difficult to calculate because of the increasing transiency of students in U.S. cities.

In Orange County, the high school dropout rate for Latino students in 1995-96, the latest year for which figures are available, was calculated at 3.3%, according to the county Department of Education. The rate for non-Latino white students was 1%; for black students 2.2%; and for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 0.8%.

Santa Ana Unified School District, in that county survey, had the highest Latino high school dropout rate: 6.3%.

William Habermehl, an associate superintendent at the county education agency, said county schools, including those in Santa Ana, are making strides in reducing minority dropout rates.

Habermehl said the key is dealing with such issues as teen pregnancy.

“Compared to the national average, our districts are doing an incredible job of holding onto kids,” Habermehl said. He added, “We know we have to take steps to reduce that rate even further.”

On a positive note, the study found a significant decrease in dropout rates among blacks, to the point that the figure is close to that for white students. The dropout rates among both groups have decreased, but the rate for black students has done so more rapidly.

The report found that the nation’s overall dropout rate in 1995, the latest year for which figures were available, was 12%, down slightly from 14.6% in 1972. California’s dropout rate is about 20%, according to the state Department of Education. In Los Angeles County, more than 28% of students drop out, and in Orange County, 13% of students do so.

In California, 10% of Asian students, 12% of whites, 28% of Latinos and one-third of black students do not complete high school.

The new federal report includes as dropouts those immigrants who entered the U.S. as children without a high school degree and never entered U.S. schools. While this may partially account for the 30% Latino dropout rate, it does not diminish the figure’s significance, according to the report.

“Regardless of the reasons behind their lack of high school credentials, the impact is the same: These young adults do not have the basic level of education that is thought to be essential in today’s economy,” the report says.

The high percentage of Latinos not completing high school may be due to the schools themselves, said Maria Robledo Montecel, executive director of Intercultural Development Research Assn., a nonprofit organization in San Antonio that focuses on equity in education. She has conducted more than 700 interviews with Latinos who have dropped out or are considering doing so.

“Fundamentally, there is an incompatibility between the characteristics of the students and what the schools offer, which results in Hispanic students feeling isolated,” Robledo Montecel said.

The incompatibility includes a lack of bilingual and English as a Second Language programs, the concentration of Latinos in high-poverty schools, lack of teacher preparation and low expectations for Latino students among teachers, administrators and society as a whole, she said.

Times staff writer Nick Anderson contributed to this report.

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Leaving School

During Orange County’s 1995-96 school year, Latinos had the highest dropout rate among students in grades 7-12. Those rates increased with each year:

Dropout Rates by Race/Ethnicity

Latino: 3.3%

Black: 2.2

Native American*: 1.6

Pacific Islander: 1.6

White: 1.0

Asian: 0.7

Filipino: 0.7

Total: 1.7%

* Includes Alaska native Americans

Latino Dropout Rates By Grade

7th: 1.8%

8th: 2.0

9th: 3.8

10th: 4.3

11th: 4.0

12th: 4.5

Source: Orange County Department of Education; Researched by NICK ANDERSON / Los Angeles Times