Frazier Mountain High School Rates Need Second Glance

By Richard Hoegh, Community Correspondent

State Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell on July 16 published data on student drop-out rates throughout the state for the period between 2006-2007.

The student drop-out rate for the El Tejon Unified School District, over a four year span, comes in—at first reading—better than either the statewide or county-wide rates.

The overall drop-out rate for all students in the El Tejon district stood at 14.8 percent, compared to the Kern county rate of 20.1 and the state-wide rate of 17.3. For the same period, the rate among Hispanic students statewide came in at 29.8 and for whites at 12.1.

As we have published before, ETUSD has one of the lowest ‘non white’ and Hispanic student populations of any district in the state. Therefore, the 14.8 percent drop-out rate is higher than the state average of 12.1 percent of dropouts among white students.

Student drop-out rate affects the entire population: student, school and community. Everybody loses.

The state’s newly published one-year dropout data comes from a data bank known as CALPADS (the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System). CALPADS tracks the performance and progress of each individual student in California public schools.

Each student is now assigned an ID number. Pertinent data on each student, including demographics, program participation, grade level, teachers assigned, course enrollment and completion, discipline and test results are tracked.

If a student leaves school, a list of over 20 possible reasons for leaving are noted, all part of a design to keep students in school. CALPADS will be fully operative in California public schools in early 2009.

This is part of the July 18, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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