Understanding Dropout Calculations

The dropout rate for any given year is impacted by five different SIMS data collections (boxes 1 through 5 below). This can create confusion because some of the activities for calculating the dropout rates for different years overlap one another. The picture below illustrates the process of calculating the dropout rate for any given school year (in the gray box).

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

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Last Updated: May 29, 2009