Abstract:
Graduation and Drop-out Rates for Students Who Were 9th Graders in 2005-2006
High school progress indicators and outcomes are described for a statewide cohort of youth served by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). This report is the first product of a federally funded cross-agency effort (ARRA, 2009) that provided DSHS with the capacity to track educational progress and outcomes for children and youth served by the agency. Within 6 years of entering the 9th grade, 55 percent of the DSHS cohort had graduated from high school, 43 percent had dropped out or disappeared, and 2 percent were still enrolled in public school. Youth served by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, and the Children’s Administration had extremely low graduation rates and high drop-out rates, compared to those receiving Medical Assistance or Child Support Enforcement only, and had early indications of risk in the form of low grade point averages and high numbers of unexcused absences.