State high school dropout rate inches up in 2016-17

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The South Carolina dropout rate for grades 9 through 12 inched up to 2.4% for the 2016-17 school year from 2.3% the previous year.

The dropout rate decreased in 52 of the state’s 84 school districts, according to the Report on Student Dropout Rates released Tuesday by the S.C. Department of Education.

The annual data collection process, which began in 1971, counts students who leave school during a 12-month period. Students who re-enroll during the period and remain in school are excluded from the count.

“Students who are engaged and see the relevance in what they are learning will show up to class on time and not drop out,” S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said in a news release. “I challenge our teachers, schools and districts to find students’ passions and offer them opportunities so that they can be successful.”

The report (.pdf) categorized 11 groups of dropouts, including breakdowns by ethnicity and gender. More than 3,200 of the state’s 113,786 male students, or 2.8%, dropped out in 2016-17, compared to 1.9% (2,135 of 109,861) of female students. More than 1,000 of the state’s 25,373 students with disabilities left school.

The report also found that 26% of dropouts occurred in the ninth grade, with 52% of dropouts occurring by 10th grade.

Of the more than 10,790 students between the ages of 17 and 21 enrolled in state adult education programs during the 2016-17 school year, 1,384 earned General Education Development diplomas, the report found.