Bonita High School’s dropout rate in the 2018-19 school year increased by 250% compared to the previous school year’s dropout rate of 0.2%, according to the California Department of Education (CDE).
CDE data of graduation and dropout rates confirms there is a growing achievement gap between Latino, Black, and English learner students. The achievement gap refers to the disparities in academic performance associated with race and class.
According to data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2018, of the 48 states where data was collected, Black males remain at the bottom of four-year high school graduation rates.
Closing the achievement gap earlier in the schooling process, such as during elementary school, can improve high school graduation rates and decrease dropout rates. Individually tailored student support is one way that is proposed to accomplish this.
In The Long-Term Impact of Systemic Student Support in Elementary School: Reducing High School Dropout, Terrence J. Lee-St. John, a Biostatistician at the Research Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, says, “Students often fail to complete high school for complex reasons that often manifest long before they reach high school. Individually tailored student support during elementary school can lead to lasting and meaningful effects.”
| Ranking | School | Drop-out rate | 2017-18 Drop-out rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millennium High Alternative | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Piedmont High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Amador County Special Education | 0 | — | |
| 1 | Biggs High School | 0 | 6.5 | |
| 1 | Durham High School | 0 | 1.2 | |
| 1 | Maxwell Sr High School | 0 | 3.4 | |
| 1 | Pierce High School | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | Mid Valley High School (Continuation) | 0 | 11.8 | |
| 1 | Miramonte High School | 0 | 0.7 | |
| 1 | Middle College High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | California High School | 0 | 0.2 | |
| 1 | Monte Vista High School | 0 | 0.5 | |
| 1 | Kingsburg High School | 0 | 0.8 | |
| 1 | Parlier High School | 0 | 1.5 | |
| 1 | Sierra High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Hamilton High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Princeton Junior-Senior High School | 0 | — | |
| 1 | McKinleyville High School | 0 | 4.7 | |
| 1 | Hoopa Valley High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | South Fork Junior – Senior High School | 0 | 2.7 | |
| 1 | Ferndale High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Big Pine High School | 0 | — | |
| 1 | Bishop Union High School | 0 | 1.5 | |
| 1 | Boron Junior-Senior High School | 0 | 2.4 | |
| 1 | Desert Junior-Senior High School | 0 | 0 | |
| … | ||||
| 244 | Fountain Valley High School | 0.6 | 1.9 | |
| 244 | Trabuco Hills High School | 0.6 | 0.9 | |
| 244 | Los Alamitos High School | 0.6 | 0.5 | |
| 244 | Poway High School | 0.6 | 1.3 | |
| 244 | San Diego SCPA | 0.6 | 1.4 | |
| 244 | La Jolla High School | 0.6 | 1.3 | |
| 244 | San Luis Obispo High School | 0.6 | 0.3 | |
| 244 | Mills High School | 0.6 | 3.4 | |
| 244 | Cabrillo High School | 0.6 | 8.3 | |
| 244 | Saratoga High School | 0.6 | 0.6 | |
| 244 | Los Altos High School | 0.6 | 0.9 | |
| 244 | Redwood High School | 0.6 | 1.3 | |
| 244 | Steele Canyon High School | 0.6 | 2.5 | |
| 244 | Vista Murrieta High School | 0.6 | 0 | |
| 244 | Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School | 0.6 | 0 | |
| 244 | University Preparatory | 0.6 | 0 | |
| 244 | High Tech High Chula Vista | 0.6 | 1.9 | |
| 244 | Oak Hills High School | 0.6 | 0.3 | |
| 244 | Palmdale Aerospace Academy | 0.6 | 0.9 | |
| 244 | Health Sciences High School | 0.6 | 1.2 | |
| 272 | Dublin High School | 0.7 | 0 | |
| 272 | Ponderosa High School | 0.7 | 1.2 | |
| 272 | Sanger High School | 0.7 | 0.8 | |
| 272 | Riverdale High School | 0.7 | 2.9 | |
| 272 | San Gabriel High School | 0.7 | 1.2 | |
| 272 | Bonita High School | 0.7 | 0.2 | |
| 272 | Granada Hills Charter High School | 0.7 | 1.6 | |
| 272 | La Mirada High School | 0.7 | 1 | |
| 272 | La Puente High School | 0.7 | 0.7 | |
| 272 | Fort Bragg High School | 0.7 | 2.9 | |
| 272 | Hilmar High School | 0.7 | 0 | |
| 272 | Estancia High School | 0.7 | 1.1 | |
| 272 | El Dorado High School | 0.7 | 0.8 | |
| 272 | Del Oro High School | 0.7 | 0.7 | |
| 272 | Helix High School | 0.7 | 1.5 | |
| 272 | Linden High School | 0.7 | 0 | |
| 272 | Cupertino High School | 0.7 | 0.5 | |
| 272 | El Molino High School | 0.7 | 2.3 | |
| 272 | Clovis East High School | 0.7 | 0.2 | |
| 272 | Nuview Bridge Early College High School | 0.7 | 2.4 | |
| 272 | Technology High School | 0.7 | 2.4 | |
| 272 | Arnold O. Beckman High School | 0.7 | 0.6 | |
| 272 | Alliance Ouchi-O’Donovan 6-12 Complex | 0.7 | 0.8 | |
| 272 | Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep | 0.7 | 0 | |
| 272 | Orcutt Academy Charter | 0.7 | 5.7 | |
| 272 | Christopher High School | 0.7 | 2.1 | |
| 272 | Linda Esperanza Marquez High B LIBRA Academy | 0.7 | 6 | |
| 272 | Lennox Mathematics Science and Technology Academy | 0.7 | 4.5 | |
| 300 | American High School | 0.8 | 2 | |
| 300 | Brawley Union High School | 0.8 | 3.1 | |
| 300 | Holtville High School | 0.8 | 1.5 | |
| … | ||||
| 2150 | Santa Cruz County Court | 74.3 | 36.6 | |
| 2151 | S.F. County Special Education | 75 | — | |
| 2152 | San Diego County Court | 75.3 | 78.3 | |
| 2153 | San Bernardino County Juvenile Detention and Assessment Center | 75.7 | 68.9 | |
| 2154 | Highlands Community Charter | 76.2 | 60.9 | |
| 2155 | Solano County Community | 76.5 | 78.9 | |
| 2156 | MethodSchools | 77.8 | 45.8 | |
| 2157 | Center for Alternative Learning | 78.9 | 78.9 | |
| 2158 | Gateway College and Career Academy | 81.6 | 40.4 | |
| 2159 | Clovis Community Day Secondary School | 83.3 | — | |
| 2160 | Sonoma County Court | 84.6 | 67.6 | |
| 2161 | EPIC de Cesar Chavez | 85.3 | 63.5 | |
| 2162 | Dan Jacobs | 86.7 | — | |
| 2162 | Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter | 86.7 | — | |
| 2164 | SIATech Academy South | 87.7 | 55.2 | |
| 2165 | Sonoma County Alternative Education Programs | 88.9 | 36.4 | |
| 2166 | Opportunity Youth Academy | 89.1 | 42.6 | |
| 2167 | Hart-Ransom Academic Charter | 89.5 | 4.5 | |
| 2168 | Escuela Popular/Center for Training and Careers Family Learning | 90.1 | 90.1 | |
| 2168 | Santa Clara County Special Education | 90.1 | 20.3 | |
| 2170 | Siskiyou County Special Education | 90.9 | — | |
| 2170 | Oroville High Community Day | 90.9 | 90.9 | |
| 2172 | Family First Charter | 92.7 | 71.6 | |
| 2173 | Civicorps Corpsmember Academy | 93.3 | 31.8 | |
| 2174 | New Opportunities Charter | 96.5 | 93.8 | |
