MIZZOU NEWS

Lowering Dropout Rates

By Jeff Neu

Some researchers say dropout rates and student achievement are directly related to school location, whether in urban or rural settings. However, several studies by a researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia determined that school size and district structure are directly linked to high school dropouts and achievement losses.

“The best set-up for a student is K-6 and 7-12,” said John Alspaugh, education professor emeritus at MU. “The lowest dropout rates tend to occur in small high schools with limited course offerings and a high percentage of their budgets devoted to extracurricular activities. The long grade spans allow students the opportunity to establish long-term relationships, which may tend to keep them in school. The expansion of course offerings, which might initially appear to be a good idea for increasing student retention, may in reality fracture the school social structure by breaking down relationships among students.”

Alspaugh analyzed data from each school district in Missouri. He divided the school districts into three groups. The first group had a K-8, 9-12 grade-level organization, with only one elementary school and one high school. The second group of districts contained one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school with a linear transition arrangement. The third group of districts had two or three elementary schools, middle school, and one high school, with a pyramid transition arrangement of students from multiple elementary schools into a single middle school.

Lee’s Summit School District has 15 elementary schools, three junior high schools and three high schools. It is one of Missouri’s larger school districts.

Alspaugh found the students in a pyramid transition experienced a greater achievement loss than the students in a linear transition. The students attending a middle school experienced a greater achievement loss in the transition to high school than students making the transition to high school from a K-8 elementary school. Alspaugh also found students attending larger schools tended to experience more transitions than the students in smaller schools. He believes students placed in relatively small cohort groups for long spans of time tend to experience more desirable educational outcomes.

In another study, Alspaugh examined the high school dropout rates in Missouri. The lowest dropout rates occurred in grade-level organizations of K-6, 7-12, while the highest rates were found with grade 10-12 high schools. Grade 11 experiences the highest number of dropouts, which Alspaugh believes is related to the student’s new ability to drive, skip class and lose interest in school. The percentage of its budget a school spends on extracurricular activities also is related to dropout rates.

“Participation in athletics and fine arts — highly visible and prestigious activities — is related to student retention,” Alspaugh said. “For example, when the number of players on an athletic team is fixed, the probability an individual student will have an opportunity to participate decreases as the school enrollment increases. Thus, as the high school size increases, there tends to be a decrease in student participation in student activities, which leads more students to drop out.”

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Last Update: July 2, 2009