Table 2

Dropout Rates¹ of 16- to 24-Year Olds, by Race and Hispanic Origin, Selected Years 1972-2005

1972

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Total²

14.6

13.9

14.1

12.6

12.1

12.0

11.1

11.0

11.8

11.2

10.9

10.7

10.5

9.9

10.3

9.4

Race/ethnicity³

White, non-Hispanic

12.3

11.4

10.4

9.0

8.6

7.3

7.6

7.7

7.3

6.9

7.3

6.5

White, non-Hispanic alone

6.3

6.7

6.0

Black, non-Hispanic

21.3

22.9

19.1

15.2

13.2

12.1

13.0

13.4

13.8

12.6

13.1

10.9

Black alone

11.7

12.1

10.8

Hispanic

34.3

29.2

35.2

27.6

32.4

30.0

29.4

25.3

29.5

28.6

27.8

27.0

25.7

23.5

23.8

22.5

¹This indicator uses the status dropout rate which measures the percentage of young adults aged 16 to 24 who were not enrolled in a high school program and had not received a high school diploma or obtained an equivalency certificate.

²Due to relatively small sample sizes, American Indians/Alaskan Natives and Asians/Pacific Islanders are included in the total but not shown separately.

³Due to changes in the race categories, estimates from 2003 are not strictly comparable to estimates from 2002 and before. Hispanics may be of any race.

Note: "Numbers for years 1987 through 2001 reflect new editing procedures instituted by the Bureau of the Census for cases with missing data on school enrollment items. Numbers for years 1992 through 2000 reflect new wording of the educational attainment item in the CPS beginning in 1992. Numbers for years 1994 through 2000 reflect changes in the CPS due to newly instituted computer-assisted interviewing and the change in the population controls used in the 1990 Census-based estimates, with adjustments for undercounting in the 1990 Census."

Source: Data for 1972-2001: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2003. NCES 2003-067. Washington, DC: 2003. Tables 17-1 and 17-2. Based on October Current Population Surveys analysis. Data for 2002: Child Trends' calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment--Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2002: Detailed Tables: Table 1. Data for 2003: Child Trends' calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment--Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2003: Detailed Tables: Table 1. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2003.html. Data for 2004: Child Trends' calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment--Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2004: Detailed Tables: Table 1. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html Data for 2005: Child Trends' calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment--Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2005: Detailed Tables: Table 1. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2005.html