High School Attrition Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Youths

This article examines the effects of a number offactors on the dropout behavior of high school students drawn from the base year and first followup of High School and Beyond. The author found that cutting classes, suspensions, dating, being older, and being female substantially increased the odds of Chicano students dropping out. Among Cuban students, suspensions increased the odds of dropping out, but having disciplinary problems at school, high socioeconomic status, and having two parents at home substantially decreased them. For Puerto Rican students, cutting classes, suspension, being older, and being female increased the odds, but having two parents at home decreased them. Intra-Hispanic differences in the effects of immigration on school attrition were also observed.