Claremont Unified School District’s dropout rate in the 2018-19 school year increased by 412.5 percent compared to the previous school year’s dropout rate of 0.8 percent, according to the California Department of Education.
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 | District | Drop-out rate | 2017-18 Drop-out rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biggs Unified | 0 | 8.6 |
| 1 | Durham Unified | 0 | 1.2 |
| 1 | Maxwell Unified | 0 | 3.4 |
| 1 | Buckeye Union Elementary | 0 | — |
| 1 | Sierra Unified | 0 | 1.6 |
| 1 | Princeton Joint Unified | 0 | — |
| 1 | Ferndale Unified | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Big Pine Unified | 0 | — |
| 1 | Muroc Joint Unified | 0 | 0.8 |
| 1 | Big Valley Joint Unified | 0 | 7.7 |
| 1 | Hawthorne | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Tulelake Basin Joint Unified | 0 | 2.8 |
| 1 | Loomis Union Elementary | 0 | 6.3 |
| 1 | Menifee Union Elementary | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Aromas – San Juan Unified | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | La Honda-Pescadero Unified | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Geyserville Unified | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Nuestro Elementary | 0 | — |
| 1 | Mountain Valley Unified | 0 | 4.3 |
| 1 | SBE – New West Charter | 0 | 6.9 |
| 1 | SBE – The School of Arts and Enterprise | 0 | 5.3 |
| 23 | Manhattan Beach Unified | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| 24 | Arcadia Unified | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 24 | Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| … | |||
| 159 | Palo Alto Unified | 3.4 | 1.7 |
| 163 | Alameda Unified | 3.5 | 5 |
| 163 | Caruthers Unified | 3.5 | 0.7 |
| 163 | Bonita Unified | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| 163 | Wheatland Union High | 3.5 | 1.9 |
| 167 | Bret Harte Union High | 3.6 | 2.8 |
| 167 | Ukiah Unified | 3.6 | 4.8 |
| 167 | Saddleback Valley Unified | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| 167 | Upland Unified | 3.6 | 5.1 |
| 167 | Lucia Mar Unified | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| 167 | Visalia Unified | 3.6 | 5 |
| 173 | Whittier Union High | 3.7 | 4.4 |
| 173 | Chula Vista Elementary | 3.7 | 3.1 |
| 175 | El Tejon Unified | 3.8 | 7.4 |
| 176 | Amador County Unified | 3.9 | 9.1 |
| 176 | El Rancho Unified | 3.9 | 4.2 |
| 176 | Hughson Unified | 3.9 | 3 |
| 176 | Valley Center-Pauma Unified | 3.9 | 1.2 |
| 180 | Bishop Unified | 4 | 3.9 |
| 180 | Calistoga Joint Unified | 4 | 3.9 |
| 180 | Saint Helena Unified | 4 | 3.4 |
| 180 | Lammersville Joint Unified | 4 | 0.5 |
| 180 | Tulare Joint Union High | 4 | 6.5 |
| 180 | SBE – Grossmont Secondary | 4 | 4.1 |
| 186 | New Haven Unified | 4.1 | 7.1 |
| 186 | Claremont Unified | 4.1 | 0.8 |
| 186 | Val Verde Unified | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| 186 | Beaumont Unified | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| 186 | Ramona City Unified | 4.1 | 2 |
| 186 | San Diego Unified | 4.1 | 3.7 |
| 186 | Lincoln Unified | 4.1 | 4 |
| 186 | San Jose Unified | 4.1 | 5.2 |
| 186 | Fillmore Unified | 4.1 | 5 |
| 186 | Ojai Unified | 4.1 | 2 |
| 196 | Holtville Unified | 4.2 | 2 |
| 196 | Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified | 4.2 | 5.2 |
| 196 | Escalon Unified | 4.2 | 3.6 |
| 196 | Waterford Unified | 4.2 | 7.2 |
| 200 | Ravendale-Termo Elementary | 4.3 | 5.2 |
| 200 | Chino Valley Unified | 4.3 | 4.4 |
| 202 | Shasta Union High | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| 202 | Oakdale Joint Unified | 4.4 | 3.9 |
| 202 | Trinity Alps Unified | 4.4 | 10.2 |
| 202 | Ventura Unified | 4.4 | 6.2 |
| 206 | Willows Unified | 4.5 | 5.8 |
| 206 | Lakeport Unified | 4.5 | 6.6 |
| 206 | Novato Unified | 4.5 | 2.9 |
| 206 | Shandon Joint Unified | 4.5 | 7.1 |
| 206 | Lompoc Unified | 4.5 | 6.6 |
| 206 | Gilroy Unified | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| 206 | Roseland | 4.5 | 2.9 |
| … | |||
| 506 | Adelanto Elementary | 43.9 | 47.2 |
| 507 | Merced County Office of Education | 44.6 | 32.1 |
| 508 | Shasta County Office of Education | 45.1 | 43.8 |
| 509 | Riverside County Office of Education | 45.9 | 45.9 |
| 510 | Yuba County Office of Education | 47.2 | 31.9 |
| 511 | Meridian Elementary | 48.3 | 39.3 |
| 512 | Santa Cruz County Office of Education | 49.3 | 20.4 |
| 512 | Santa Clara County Office of Education | 49.3 | 27.1 |
| 514 | San Diego County Office of Education | 50.7 | 57.8 |
| 515 | Glenn County Office of Education | 52.1 | 56 |
| 516 | San Francisco County Office of Education | 52.6 | 39.4 |
| 517 | Imperial County Office of Education | 54.2 | 33 |
| 518 | Santa Barbara County Office of Education | 54.5 | 65.5 |
| 519 | Twin Hills Union Elementary | 55.2 | 2.7 |
| 520 | San Bernardino County Office of Education | 57.7 | 59.4 |
| 521 | Guerneville Elementary | 60.7 | — |
| 522 | Nevada County Office of Education | 61.9 | 49.6 |
| 523 | Lake County Office of Education | 63.6 | — |
| 524 | Yolo County Office of Education | 65.5 | 80.2 |
| 525 | Sonoma County Office of Education | 68.4 | 47 |
| 526 | Trona Joint Unified | 68.8 | 50 |
| 527 | Solano County Office of Education | 71 | 69 |
| 528 | Cuyama Joint Unified | 79 | 16.7 |
| 529 | Bradley Union Elementary | 82.1 | 37.5 |
| 530 | Hart-Ransom Union Elementary | 89.5 | 4.5 |
