Schools

RUHS, Mira Costa Dropout Rates Well Below State, County Averages

New state data is released.

Just in time for the new school year, the California Department of Education has released new performance figures for schools across the state.

And according to those numbers, Mira Costa High School’s class of 2010 had a 3.5 percent dropout rate over four years while Redondo Union’s class saw a 3.2 percent dropout rate.

These numbers for both of the local high schools are much lower than the Los Angeles County rate of 20.3 percent. The statewide dropout rate was measured at 18.2 percent.

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Hermosa Beach students entering high school have the option of attending either Mira Costa’s or Redondo Union’s public schools.

School Students 
Cohort graduation rate 
Cohort dropout rate Mira Costa High 607 95.7 percent
3.5 percent Redondo Union High
600 94.7 percent 3.2 percent

(Source: California Department of Education)

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The dropout figures, released Thursday, are from a new measurement procedure called the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). It tracked students from ninth grade in the 2006-2007 school year to now, following them as they left or transferred schools.

The more transitory student population could not be accounted for with the state’s old measuring method, according to the Department of Education

"For far too long, the discussion about graduation and dropout rates has revolved around how the results were obtained. Now, we can focus on the much more important issue of how to raise the number of graduates and lower the number of dropouts," said California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson in a statement Thursday.

State showed that Redondo Union High’s class of 2009 had a 93.4 percent graduation rate. The numbers last year measured Mira Costa’s graduation rate at 95.9 percent.

Torlakson said that in the past and now, black and Hispanic students have made up a greater portion of the dropout rates than their peers.

In Los Angeles County, black students had a graduation rate of 57.6 percent and dropout rate of 31.3 percent. Hispanic students had a graduation rate of 66.8 percent, while 23.1 percent dropped out.

Meanwhile, Asian students had a graduation rate of 92.5 percent and a dropout rate of 5.1 percent. White students had a graduation rate of 82.6 percent and a dropout rate of 12.2 percent.

"Sadly, the graduation rates of these subgroups of students are too low and their dropout rates are too high," Torlakson said. "Our job is to provide every child the best chance to succeed—whether they speak English, come from a family in poverty, have health issues, or special needs."

— City News Service contributed to this report.


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