Differentiating Characteristics of High School Graduates, Dropouts, and Nongraduates

We used the records from students entering two high schools in 1981 to classify students as dropouts, graduates, nongraduates returning for a fifth year, add non-graduates who did not continue. Using data from the students’ permanent records, we found numerous significant differences among these groups, some evident as early as the third grade. Cutoffs were determined on several measures, indicating that dropouts could be differentiated with 66% accuracy in the third grade and with 85% accuracy by the ninth grade. Nongraduates, a group roughly equal in size to the dropouts, could be identified with 77% accuracy by the ninth grade. Various implications for intervention programs are discussed.