Districts & SchoolsEducatorsFamily & Community

2019 - 2020 SY State Dropout Data

Introduction

Since 1971, the South Carolina Department of Education has collected and analyzed data on school dropouts. The Report on Student Dropout Rates provides an assessment of the progress made by state and local school districts in their effort to reduce the number of school dropouts and increase the graduation rate. The annual data collection process employed in South Carolina reports students who leave school during a twelve-month period, including those who leave over the summer. The process allows those who re-enroll during the collection period and remain in school to be excluded from the count. The 2019-20 dropout report consists of nine tables. Table 1 contains a comparison of the total number of students enrolled in grades nine through twelve. This comparison, called an event rate, shows the proportion of students who drop out in one year. The resulting percentage may be compared yearly as an indicator of progress. Tables 2 through 9 compare the number of dropouts with the number of students enrolled by ethnicity and gender categories in grades nine through twelve.

Adult Education

During the 2019-20 school year, more than 5,942 students between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one were enrolled in adult education programs in South Carolina. In that year 1,391 of these students earned General Educational Development diplomas and 492 students earned high school diplomas.

Data Comparison

Dropout Rate for Grades 9-12

  • From 2018-19 to 2019-20, the dropout rate for grades 9 through 12 declined in 50 of the 84 districts and special schools.
  • The state dropout rate decreased to 1.7 percent from 2.2 percent during the 2019-20 academic year.




    • School year DropoutRate Percent
    2016-2017 2.4
    2017-2018 2.2
    2018-2019 2.2
    2019-2020 1.7

    Dropout Percentages by Ethnicity and Gender

  • From 2018-19 to 2019-20, the dropout rate for nonwhite females decreased.
  • Nonwhite males continue to dropout at the highest rate.




    • School Year Demographic Type DropoutRate Percent
    2016-2017 Non-white Female 1.9
    2017-2018 Non-white Female 1.9
    2018-2019 Non-white Female 1.8
    2019-2020 Non-white Female 1.5
    2016-2017 Non-white Male 3.1
    2017-2018 Non-white Male 3
    2018-2019 Non-white Male 3.1
    2019-2020 Non-white Male 2.6
    2016-2017 White Female 2
    2017-2018 White Female 1.8
    2018-2019 White Female 1.5
    2019-2020 White Female 1.1
    2016-2017 White Male 2.6
    2017-2018 White Male 2.3
    2018-2019 White Male 2.2
    2019-2020 White Male 1.7

    Dropouts by Gender and by Ethnicity

  • In 2019-20, the dropout rate for males was 2.2 percent compared to 1.3 percent for females.
  • In 2019-20, the dropout rate for nonwhites was 2.1 percent compared to 1.4 percent for whites.



    • School Year Demographic Type DropoutRate Percent
    2018-2019 Female 1.7
    2018-2019 Male 2.6
    2018-2019 Non-white 2.5
    2018-2019 White 1.9
    2019-2020 Female 1.3
    2019-2020 Male 2.2
    2019-2020 Non-white 2.1
    2019-2020 White 1.4

    Dropouts by Grade

  • In 2019-20, approximately 27 percent of all dropouts occurred in the ninth grade.
  • Cumulatively in 2019-20, 54 percent of the dropouts had occurred by the tenth-grade year.



    • School Year School Grade Number of Dropout Students DropoutRate Percent
    2019-2020 9 1084 27
    2019-2020 10 1084 27
    2019-2020 11 943 24
    2019-2020 12 858 22

    South Carolina Dropouts 2019 - 2020

    Dropouts by Group Dropouts Enrollment Dropouts Rate
    All Students 3969 228582 1.7
    Male 2508 116320 2.2
    Female 1461 112261 1.3
    American Indian or Alaska Native 23 748 3.1
    Asian 16 3940 0.4
    Blacks, Non-Hispanic 1410 72543 1.9
    Hispanic 629 24179 2.6
    Mixed Race 201 9253 2.2
    White, Non-Hispanic 1687 117606 1.4
    Economically Disadvantaged 3001 126478 2.4
    Homeless 140 1477 9.5
    Limited English Proficient 469 11459 4.1
    Migrant 0 75 0
    Students with Disabilties 1405 28234 5