District/School Administration  Information Services  Data Collection
Understanding Dropout Calculations

The dropout rate for any given year is impacted by three different SIMS data collections (boxes 1 through 4 below). This can create confusion because some of the activities for calculating the dropout rates for different years overlap one another. The diagram below illustrates the process of calculating the dropout rate for any given school year.

The final dropout rate = [(Summer Dropouts + School Year Dropouts) — Returned Dropouts] / High School Enrollment

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