In January of 2007 Dr. Albert Cortez of the Intercultural Development Research Association researched the numbers, causes and solutions about Texas’ drop crisis.
A student is defined to be a school dropout if he/she is enrolled in a Texas public school at age 15 and by age 20 he/she has not yet graduated nor is enrolled in school.
Statistics show in 1986 minorities had the highest drop out rates, Hispanics at the top of the list. Hispanics accounted for 47% of drop outs in Texas. Blacks followed right behind with a drop out rate of 36% and whites at 28%.
In year 2006 percentages changed for only blacks and whites. Blacks increased to a rate of 40%, and whites decreased to 21%. Hispanics remained the same.
The cumulative students lost from 1986-2006 was a little over 2.3 million.
Dr. Angela Valenzuela, University of Texas, Texas Center for Educational Policy, Dr. Robert Sanborn, CHILDREN AT RISK, and Dr. Albert Cortez, Intercultural Development Research Association have nine principles to address the drop out crisis.
Principle 1: All students enrolled in Texas secondary schools should be expected, and must be supported, to graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma.
Principle 2: The state must restore the credibility of official dropout counts by accurately accounting for the educational status of every pupil that entered the 9th grade in any Texas secondary school.
Principle 3: Using Texas’ excellent student-level longitudinal data, the state should implement a transparent and simple methodology to count and report on dropouts. Reporting should be readily available and easily accessible to the public. Reporting must directly inform communities and parents about the status of the issue and progress being made to address it.
Principle 4: State efforts to decrease the dropout rate should recognize and address systemic issues that affect student graduation, documented by research (including teaching quality, curriculum quality and access, student engagement, etc.) and incorporate both dropout prevention and dropout recovery.
Principle 5: Ongoing evaluation must be an integral part of any effort at the state and local level to address the dropout problem.
Principle 6: In ensuring that all students graduate, schools should incorporate pedagogical changes that allow them to better adapt to the needs and strengths of their students.
Principle 7: No single criterion (e.g. high stakes testing) should be used to make high school graduation decisions for any individual student.
Principle 8: The state must acknowledge shared accountability for the dropout issue at state, district and local levels by investing the personnel and fiscal resources needed to help schools meet state-established graduation targets. Adequate, equitable funding must be allocated to address this crisis.
Principle 9: Any response to the dropout issue must be based on valuing Texas families, educators, communities, and students; no response should promote a “deficit model” or blame.
Below is a table of drop of rates according to independent school districts in Texas compiled by Dr. Eileen Coppola of Rice University Center for Education.
| District | Annual Grade 7-12 Dropout Rate | Longitudinal
Grade 9 Cohort Class of 2005 Graduation Rate |
Longitudinal
Grade 9 Cohort Class of 2005 Dropout Rate |
| Houston ISD | 2.4% | 73.8% | 12.5% |
| Dallas ISD | 1.5% | 77.8% | 7.9% |
| Austin ISD | 1.1% | 80.7% | 5.6% |
| El Paso ISD | 1.2% | 76.1% | 5.6% |
| San Antonio ISD | 1.7% | 76.0% | 8.0% |
Astounding number on the total dropouts…great stuff.