Kern County Times

Taft Union High School District's dropout rate in the 2019-20 school year increased by 16.1 percent compared to the previous school year’s dropout rate of 3.1 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	2018-19 Drop-out rate
1	Piedmont City Unified	0	1
1	Emery Unified	0	2.7
1	Amador County Office of Education	0	19
1	Durham Unified	0	0
1	Williams Unified	0	2.9
1	Buckeye Union Elementary	0	0
1	Princeton Joint Unified	0	0
1	Ferndale Unified	0	0
1	El Tejon Unified	0	3.8
1	El Segundo Unified	0	0.7
1	Hawthorne	0	0
1	La Canada Unified	0	0.6
1	Calistoga Joint Unified	0	4
1	Laguna Beach Unified	0	3.3
1	Nuview Union	0	3.2
1	Menifee Union Elementary	0	0
1	Templeton Unified	0	1.4
1	Redding Elementary	0	14.3
1	Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified	0	0
1	Scott Valley Unified	0	1.6
1	Twin Hills Union Elementary	0	55.2
1	Nuestro Elementary	0	0
1	Mountain Valley Unified	0	0
1	Oak Park Unified	0	0.9
25	Manhattan Beach Unified	0.2	0.2
…
121	Corona-Norco Unified	3	3.2
125	Kerman Unified	3.1	7.3
125	South Bay Union Elementary	3.1	9.7
125	Corning Union High	3.1	7
128	Dublin Unified	3.2	2.7
128	Northern Humboldt Union High	3.2	2.9
128	Lassen Union High	3.2	1.5
128	Claremont Unified	3.2	4.1
128	Carmel Unified	3.2	1.8
128	Sonoma Valley Unified	3.2	4.7
134	Tulelake Basin Joint Unified	3.3	0
134	San Dieguito Union High	3.3	2.2
134	Burton Elementary	3.3	9.8
137	Biggs Unified	3.4	0
137	Bret Harte Union High	3.4	3.6
137	Los Banos Unified	3.4	2.3
137	Saddleback Valley Unified	3.4	3.6
137	Redlands Unified	3.4	4.9
137	Carlsbad Unified	3.4	1.7
137	San Marcos Unified	3.4	3
137	Campbell Union High	3.4	2.7
137	Sonora Union High	3.4	2.2
146	Selma Unified	3.5	3.2
146	Palm Springs Unified	3.5	4.6
146	Shasta Union High	3.5	4.4
149	Taft Union High	3.6	3.1
149	Gonzales Unified	3.6	1.4
149	Atascadero Unified	3.6	3.3
149	San Lorenzo Valley Unified	3.6	6.2
149	Petaluma Joint Union High	3.6	7.2
149	Red Bluff Joint Union High	3.6	2.8
155	Imperial Unified	3.7	0.7
155	Val Verde Unified	3.7	4.1
155	Chino Valley Unified	3.7	4.3
155	Tustin Unified	3.7	2.1
159	San Pasqual Valley Unified	3.8	16.4
159	Burbank Unified	3.8	6.1
159	Hacienda la Puente Unified	3.8	3.4
159	Desert Sands Unified	3.8	4.8
159	Silver Valley Unified	3.8	2.3
159	Keyes Union	3.8	4.5
159	Exeter Unified	3.8	7.8
166	South Pasadena Unified	3.9	7.2
166	Novato Unified	3.9	4.5
166	Coronado Unified	3.9	7
169	New Haven Unified	4	4.1
169	Chawanakee Unified	4	3.2
169	Merced Union High	4	6.7
169	San Mateo Union High	4	3.4
169	Winship-Robbins	4	2.5
174	Orange Unified	4.1	5.3
…
502	Meridian Elementary	53.1	48.3
503	Mono County Office of Education	53.4	39.6
504	Solano County Office of Education	53.6	71
505	Yuba County Office of Education	53.8	47.2
506	Centinela Valley Union High	56.7	38.7
507	California School for the Deaf-Fremont (State Special Schl)	57.4	2.6
508	Mattole Unified	58.3	18.5
509	Inyo County Office of Education	58.6	41.8
510	Orange Center	60	32.6
511	Adelanto Elementary	61.5	43.9
512	Glenn County Office of Education	61.6	52.1
513	Madera County Superintendent of Schools	62.1	29.2
514	Vallecitos Elementary	64.3	15.2
515	San Francisco County Office of Education	65.2	52.6
516	Yolo County Office of Education	67.4	65.5
517	Imperial County Office of Education	67.7	54.2
518	Nevada County Office of Education	70.2	61.9
519	Oak Grove Union Elementary	72.2	37.6
520	Trona Joint Unified	79.7	68.8
521	Marin County Office of Education	83.6	42.6
522	Bradley Union Elementary	86.4	82.1
523	Guerneville Elementary	86.5	60.7
524	Cuyama Joint Unified	89.9	79
525	Laytonville Unified	93.8	3.2
525	Shasta County Office of Education	93.8	45.1