S.C. high school dropout rates continue to improve; Charleston area worsens

Image by Flickr user JMaz Photo

In an annual report released by the South Carolina Department of Education, the number of teens dropping out of high school continued to fall — though by a slight margin, however Charleston metro rates all increased.

During the 2009-10 school year 2.9% of students dropped out, in 2010-11 2.8% dropped out, a 0.1% point improvement. 

During the two years prior the rate fell by 0.5% points consecutively. 

The drop was seen across gender and race groups, with only non-white females holding steady at 2.5%. And the highest dropout categories were students with disabilities (4.4%), Hispanic students (3.7%), and economically disadvantaged students (3.3%).

Locally the dropout rate worsened:

  • Charleston: 3.0%, was 2.8%
  • Berkeley: 2.7%, was 2.0%
  • Dorchester 2: 3.1% was 2.9%
  • Dorchester 4: 1.7% was 1.5%

Keep up with area education news on our topic page.

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