2020 - 2021 SY State Dropout Data - South Carolina Department of Education

2020 - 2021 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 2020-21 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 2020-21 school year, more than 4238 students between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one were enrolled in adult education programs in South Carolina. In that year 897 of these students earned General Educational Development diplomas and 472 students earned high school diplomas.

Data Comparison

Dropout Rate for Grades 9-12

From 2019-20 to 2020-21, the dropout rate for grades 9 through 12 declined in 7 of the 84 districts and special schools.

The state dropout rate increased from 1.7 percent to 2.4 percent during the 2020-21 academic year.

School year	DropoutRate Percent
2017-2018	2.2
2018-2019	2.2
2019-2020	1.7
2020-2021	2.4

Dropout Percentages by Ethnicity and Gender

From 2019-20 to 2020-21, the dropout rate for nonwhite females increased.

Nonwhite males continue to dropout at the highest rate.

School Year	Demographic Type	DropoutRate Percent
2017-2018	Non-white Female	1.9
2018-2019	Non-white Female	1.8
2019-2020	Non-white Female	1.5
2020-2021	Non-white Female	1.9
2017-2018	Non-white Male	3
2018-2019	Non-white Male	3.1
2019-2020	Non-white Male	2.6
2020-2021	Non-white Male	3.4
2017-2018	White Female	1.8
2018-2019	White Female	1.5
2019-2020	White Female	1.1
2020-2021	White Female	1.8
2017-2018	White Male	2.3
2018-2019	White Male	2.2
2019-2020	White Male	1.7
2020-2021	White Male	2.6

Dropouts by Gender and by Ethnicity

In 2020-21, the dropout rate for males was 3.0 percent compared to 1.9 percent for females.

In 2020-21, the dropout rate for nonwhites was 2.7 percent compared to 2.2 percent for whites.

School Year	Demographic Type	DropoutRate Percent
2019-2020	Female	1.3
2019-2020	Male	2.2
2019-2020	Non-white	2.1
2019-2020	White	1.4
2020-2021	Female	1.9
2020-2021	Male	3
2020-2021	Non-white	2.7
2020-2021	White	2.2

Dropouts by Grade

In 2020-21, approximately 21 percent of all dropouts occurred in the ninth grade.

Cumulatively in 2020-21, 45 percent of the dropouts had occurred by the tenth-grade year.

School Year	School Grade	Number of Dropout Students	DropoutRate Percent
2020-2021	9	1332	21
2020-2021	10	1582	24
2020-2021	11	1468	26
2020-2021	12	1372	29

South Carolina Dropouts 2020 - 2021

Dropouts by Group	Dropouts	Enrollment	Dropouts Rate
All Students	5754	234953	2.4
Male	3609	119530	3
Female	2145	115319	1.9
American Indian or Alaska Native	32	759	4.2
Asian	21	4114	0.5
Blacks, Non-Hispanic	1984	74732	2.7
Hispanic	806	27114	3
Mixed Race	292	10247	2.8
Pacific Islander	7	334	2.1
White, Non-Hispanic	2612	117645	2.2
Economically Disadvantaged	4429	130752	3.4
Homeless	185	1598	11.6
Limited English Proficient	543	12417	4.4
Migrant	6	97	6.2
Students with Disabilties	1405	29712	4.7