Santa Cruz Standard

Scotts Valley Unified School District's dropout rate in the 2019-20 school year decreased by 58.3 percent compared to the previous school year’s dropout rate of 1.2 percent, according to the California Department of Education.

CDE data of graduation and dropout rates confirms there is a growing achievement gap between Latino, Black, and English learner students. The achievement gap refers to the disparities in academic performance associated with race and class.

According to data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2018, of the 48 states where data was collected, Black males remain at the bottom of four-year high school graduation rates.

Closing the achievement gap earlier in the schooling process, such as during elementary school, can improve high school graduation rates and decrease dropout rates. Individually tailored student support is one way that is proposed to accomplish this.

In The Long-Term Impact of Systemic Student Support in Elementary School: Reducing High School Dropout, Terrence J. Lee-St. John, a Biostatistician at the Research Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, says, “Students often fail to complete high school for complex reasons that often manifest long before they reach high school. Individually tailored student support during elementary school can lead to lasting and meaningful effects.”

Ranking	District	Drop-out rate	2018-19 Drop-out rate
1	Piedmont City Unified	0	1
1	Emery Unified	0	2.7
1	Amador County Office of Education	0	19
1	Durham Unified	0	0
1	Williams Unified	0	2.9
1	Buckeye Union Elementary	0	0
1	Princeton Joint Unified	0	0
1	Ferndale Unified	0	0
1	El Tejon Unified	0	3.8
1	El Segundo Unified	0	0.7
1	Hawthorne	0	0
1	La Canada Unified	0	0.6
1	Calistoga Joint Unified	0	4
1	Laguna Beach Unified	0	3.3
1	Nuview Union	0	3.2
1	Menifee Union Elementary	0	0
1	Templeton Unified	0	1.4
1	Redding Elementary	0	14.3
1	Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified	0	0
1	Scott Valley Unified	0	1.6
1	Twin Hills Union Elementary	0	55.2
1	Nuestro Elementary	0	0
1	Mountain Valley Unified	0	0
1	Oak Park Unified	0	0.9
25	Manhattan Beach Unified	0.2	0.2
26	Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified	0.5	0.3
26	Scotts Valley Unified	0.5	1.2
26	Sutter Union High	0.5	2.1
29	San Ramon Valley Unified	0.6	0.4
29	Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified	0.6	4.7
29	Arcadia Unified	0.6	0.3
29	Delhi Unified	0.6	1.5
33	Kingsburg Joint Union High	0.7	0.9
33	Lennox	0.7	1.1
33	Murrieta Valley Unified	0.7	0.9
33	Roseland	0.7	4.5
37	Glendora Unified	0.8	0.4
37	Lawndale Elementary	0.8	2.5
37	Temple City Unified	0.8	2.5
40	Mammoth Unified	0.9	2.5
40	Los Alamitos Unified	0.9	0.6
40	Santa Ynez Valley Union High	0.9	5.1
43	Lammersville Joint Unified	1	4
44	Walnut Valley Unified	1.1	1.1
44	San Jacinto Unified	1.1	2.6
46	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	1.2	1.9
47	Brawley Union High	1.3	2.4
47	Holtville Unified	1.3	4.2
47	Mariposa County Unified	1.3	4.6
47	East Nicolaus Joint Union High	1.3	2.7
51	Fowler Unified	1.4	0.5
51	Irvine Unified	1.4	1.6
51	Lincoln Unified	1.4	4.1
51	Yreka Union High	1.4	16.9
55	Pleasanton Unified	1.5	1.1
55	Bellflower Unified	1.5	3.2
55	Covina-Valley Unified	1.5	2.5
55	Natomas Unified	1.5	2.4
55	Needles Unified	1.5	9.4
55	Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High	1.5	2.2
55	Davis Joint Unified	1.5	2.8
62	El Dorado Union High	1.6	2.1
62	Riverdale Joint Unified	1.6	2.7
62	Torrance Unified	1.6	1.6
62	Linden Unified	1.6	0.6
66	Albany City Unified	1.7	3.1
66	Sanger Unified	1.7	1.8
66	Hanford Joint Union High	1.7	2.3
66	ABC Unified	1.7	2.1
66	Lindsay Unified	1.7	2.9
66	Santa Paula Unified	1.7	1.5
72	Tamalpais Union High	1.8	2.5
73	Poway Unified	1.9	0.3
74	Acalanes Union High	2	1.3
74	Benicia Unified	2	1.4
76	Liberty Union High	2.1	3
…
501	Santa Barbara County Office of Education	52.8	54.5
502	Meridian Elementary	53.1	48.3
503	Mono County Office of Education	53.4	39.6
504	Solano County Office of Education	53.6	71
505	Yuba County Office of Education	53.8	47.2
506	Centinela Valley Union High	56.7	38.7
507	California School for the Deaf-Fremont (State Special Schl)	57.4	2.6
508	Mattole Unified	58.3	18.5
509	Inyo County Office of Education	58.6	41.8
510	Orange Center	60	32.6
511	Adelanto Elementary	61.5	43.9
512	Glenn County Office of Education	61.6	52.1
513	Madera County Superintendent of Schools	62.1	29.2
514	Vallecitos Elementary	64.3	15.2
515	San Francisco County Office of Education	65.2	52.6
516	Yolo County Office of Education	67.4	65.5
517	Imperial County Office of Education	67.7	54.2
518	Nevada County Office of Education	70.2	61.9
519	Oak Grove Union Elementary	72.2	37.6
520	Trona Joint Unified	79.7	68.8
521	Marin County Office of Education	83.6	42.6
522	Bradley Union Elementary	86.4	82.1
523	Guerneville Elementary	86.5	60.7
524	Cuyama Joint Unified	89.9	79
525	Laytonville Unified	93.8	3.2
525	Shasta County Office of Education	93.8	45.1