Taft Charter High School’s dropout rate in the 2019-20 school year decreased by 38.2% compared to the previous school year’s dropout rate of 7.6%, according to the California Department of Education (CDE).
CDE data of graduation and dropout rates confirms there is a growing achievement gap between Latino, Black, and English learner students. The achievement gap refers to the disparities in academic performance associated with race and class.
According to data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2018, of the 48 states where data was collected, Black males remain at the bottom of four-year high school graduation rates.
Closing the achievement gap earlier in the schooling process, such as during elementary school, can improve high school graduation rates and decrease dropout rates. Individually tailored student support is one way that is proposed to accomplish this.
In The Long-Term Impact of Systemic Student Support in Elementary School: Reducing High School Dropout, Terrence J. Lee-St. John, a Biostatistician at the Research Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, says, “Students often fail to complete high school for complex reasons that often manifest long before they reach high school. Individually tailored student support during elementary school can lead to lasting and meaningful effects.”
| Ranking | School | Drop-out rate | 2018-19 Drop-out rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millennium High Alternative | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Piedmont High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Emery Secondary School | 0 | 2.7 | |
| 1 | Amador County Special Education | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Durham High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Mid Valley High School (Continuation) | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Williams Junior/Senior High School | 0 | 3.4 | |
| 1 | Freedom High School | 0 | 1.4 | |
| 1 | Middle College High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Golden Sierra Junior Senior High School | 0 | 2.5 | |
| 1 | Kingsburg High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Oasis Continuation High School | 0 | — | |
| 1 | Princeton Junior-Senior High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Ferndale High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Desert Junior-Senior High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Frazier Mountain High School | 0 | 3.8 | |
| 1 | Earl F. Johnson High School (Continuation) | 0 | 1.7 | |
| 1 | Whitney (Gretchen) High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Mayfair High School | 0 | 1.2 | |
| 1 | South Hills High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Arena High School (Continuation) | 0 | 11.1 | |
| 1 | El Segundo High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | La Canada High School | 0 | 0.6 | |
| 1 | Lake Balboa College Preparatory Magnet K-12 | 0 | 0 | |
| … | ||||
| 937 | Tulare Union High School | 4.5 | 0.3 | |
| 937 | Marysville High School | 4.5 | 4.4 | |
| 937 | CORE Charter | 4.5 | 2.7 | |
| 937 | Hercules High School | 4.5 | 4.2 | |
| 937 | Bert Corona Charter High School | 4.5 | 0 | |
| 937 | Chawanakee Academy Charter | 4.5 | 7.5 | |
| 937 | Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy | 4.5 | 23.1 | |
| 937 | Excelsior Charter School Corona-Norco | 4.5 | — | |
| 937 | South Sutter Charter | 4.5 | 5.8 | |
| 950 | Deer Valley High School | 4.6 | 2.2 | |
| 950 | Avenal High School | 4.6 | 2.5 | |
| 950 | North Park Continuation High School | 4.6 | 3.3 | |
| 950 | Vail High School (Continuation) | 4.6 | 5.2 | |
| 950 | Rancho Alamitos High School | 4.6 | 10.9 | |
| 950 | John F. Kennedy High School | 4.6 | 2.4 | |
| 950 | El Camino Fundamental High School | 4.6 | 1.8 | |
| 950 | Escondido High School | 4.6 | 4.3 | |
| 950 | West Hills High School | 4.6 | 4.9 | |
| 950 | Bear Creek High School | 4.6 | 7 | |
| 950 | Watsonville High School | 4.6 | 7.3 | |
| 950 | Moorpark High School | 4.6 | 3.6 | |
| 962 | South Tahoe High School | 4.7 | 1.5 | |
| 962 | Arvin High School | 4.7 | 2.8 | |
| 962 | Kelseyville High School | 4.7 | 4 | |
| 962 | Polytechnic High School | 4.7 | 6.1 | |
| 962 | Taft Charter High School | 4.7 | 7.6 | |
| 962 | Nevada Union High School | 4.7 | 4.7 | |
| 962 | Santiago High School | 4.7 | 8.1 | |
| 962 | Indio High School | 4.7 | 3.9 | |
| 962 | Independence High School | 4.7 | 19.1 | |
| 962 | Sunnyside High School | 4.7 | 4.7 | |
| 962 | Waterford High School | 4.7 | 3.5 | |
| 962 | Animo South Los Angeles Charter | 4.7 | 4.7 | |
| 962 | Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology at Esteban E. Torres High No. 4 | 4.7 | 9.9 | |
| 975 | Venture (Alternative) | 4.8 | 4.9 | |
| 975 | Mt. Tallac High School | 4.8 | 27.3 | |
| 975 | Maricopa High School | 4.8 | 3.7 | |
| 975 | Tehachapi High School | 4.8 | 7.1 | |
| 975 | Wasco High School | 4.8 | 4.1 | |
| 975 | Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School | 4.8 | 0 | |
| 975 | Calabasas High School | 4.8 | 6.3 | |
| 975 | Castle Park Senior High School | 4.8 | 5.2 | |
| 975 | Mar Vista Senior High School | 4.8 | 5.5 | |
| 975 | Lincoln (Abraham) High School | 4.8 | 5.1 | |
| 975 | Del Mar High School | 4.8 | 10 | |
| 975 | Westmont High School | 4.8 | 1.7 | |
| 975 | Mt. Pleasant High School | 4.8 | 9.9 | |
| 975 | Theodore Bird High School | 4.8 | 10.5 | |
| 975 | Summerville High School | 4.8 | 2.6 | |
| 975 | Chaparral High School | 4.8 | 1.3 | |
| 975 | Indian Springs High School | 4.8 | 5.4 | |
| … | ||||
| 2167 | Oroville High Community Day | 81.8 | 90.9 | |
| 2169 | Gould Educational Center | 82.4 | 17.2 | |
| 2170 | Come Back Charter | 83.7 | — | |
| 2171 | Gateway High School (Continuation) | 84.6 | 36.4 | |
| 2172 | Tulare County Court | 85.7 | 54.1 | |
| 2173 | Dan Jacobs | 88.9 | 86.7 | |
| 2174 | Matrix for Success Academy | 89.6 | — | |
| 2175 | Violet Heintz Education Academy | 90 | 66.7 | |
| 2175 | EPIC de Cesar Chavez | 90 | 85.3 | |
| 2177 | Escuela Popular/Center for Training and Careers Family Learning | 90.2 | 90.1 | |
| 2178 | Independence Charter Academy | 90.3 | 6.3 | |
| 2179 | Five Keys Adult School (SF Sheriff’s) | 91.4 | 73.8 | |
| 2180 | Highlands Community Charter | 91.6 | 76.2 | |
| 2181 | S.F. County Special Education | 91.7 | 75 | |
| 2182 | SIATech Academy South | 92.1 | 87.7 | |
| 2183 | Five Keys Independence HS (SF Sheriff’s) | 92.4 | 24.8 | |
| 2184 | Clear Passage Educational Center | 92.9 | — | |
| 2185 | Boron Junior-Senior High School | 93.2 | 0 | |
| 2186 | Laytonville High School | 93.8 | 3.2 | |
| 2187 | Five Keys Charter (SF Sheriff’s) | 95.5 | 63.3 | |
| 2188 | San Bernardino County Special Education | 96.1 | 47.4 | |
| 2189 | Shasta County Independent Study Charter | 97.3 | 44.3 | |
| 2190 | Family First Charter | 98 | 92.7 | |
| 2191 | New Opportunities Charter | 98.2 | 96.5 | |
| 2192 | Special Education | 98.6 | — | |
