Where have the students gone: Are high school dropout rates accurate

The purpose of the study was to determine if currently reported high school dropout rates are truly accurate and what district responses to the dropout problem have been.;The literature related to this concern was reviewed to gain insight into who, why, and how many students dropout as well as the effects of dropping out on the individual student and on society in general. From this review, several research questions were generated to guide the investigation.;Case studies of six high schools (two central city, two suburban and two rural, involving 2300 students in total) were used to test my hypothesis that the dropout rate is worse than the reported data lead one to believe. The main focus of the data collection was to determine where students that did not graduate in the traditional timeframe went and if these students were accounted for accurately. Discrepancies would bring into question the accuracy of New York States' dropout calculations.;The six high schools provided information about students who were enrolled as juniors in the 1997 and 1998 school years but did not graduate in 1999 and 2000 respectively. In addition, the high school principal and guidance counselors were interviewed to gain information concerning program availability for at-risk students and procedures concerning potential dropouts. The interviews shed light into how schools are addressing the support needed to attain higher standards and how potential dropouts are handled.;A cross-analysis of the six cases showed that the reported dropout rates are inaccurate regardless of the definition of dropout used. The study also documents a number of strategies that schools have implemented to help all students reach the higher standards and increased graduation requirements being implemented in New York State.