Examining Influential Factors on the Types of Student Departure From Public High Schools

• In Event: High School Reform: Examining Factors Related to Attendance, School Engagement, and Credit Recovery

Abstract

High school student departure has been a critical topic for research in the schools since last century (e.g., Ensminger & Slusarick, 1992; Jamerson, 2001; Rumberger, 1987). Utilizing Competing Risks Modeling (CRM), this study examines the associations between the influential factors and various types of student departure from public high schools. The CRM approach allows researchers to remedy analytic problems often found when standard statistical procedures were used to study student dropout as a single event (Box-Steffensmeier & Jones, 2004). The current study results provide updated and critical information with the most recent data from a large public school district for educators and educational stakeholders to further understand the phenomenon of the high school student departure.

Authors

• Haiyan Bai, University of Central Florida

• Quan Li, University of Central Florida

• Melody Bowdon, University of Central Florida

• Nan Hua, University of Houston

• Rex E. Culp, University of Central Florida

• Donna Leinsing, University of Central Florida