Capable Dropouts and the Social Milieu of the High School

Studies of high-school dropouts suggest that many of those who drop out of school have the requisite ability to do passing or even superior work. A conceptual framework is presented which attempts to explain why these capable students leave school.The basic premise is that a capable dropout is a response to status deprivation experienced primarily by lower-class youth in the informal network of peer relations and in the academic system of the school. The socialization in middle-class families prepares youth to compete successfully in school, while in lower-class families children are not trained to conform to the academic and informal requirements of the school.