The dropout rate in this audit is established for grades 9-12 on a four-year cumulative basis. In the Elmwood Park CUSD # 401, the calculated cumulative dropout rate is 18%. We calculate the four-year projection based on the principle that it is worthwhile to consider what percentage of an incoming class in a given year will drop out of the school district by the time they are seniors. To determine this rate, we use the current year’s drop out rate as a starting point and calculate what percentage of students would drop out, if the rate were unchanged over the following four years. In Elmwood Park, based on a one-year drop out rate of 4.5 %, the gross estimate is that 18% of the 2000-2001 freshman class could leave school by the end of their projected senior year of 2003-2004. In other words, if the current drop out rate does not change, we would expect that approximately 1 of every 5 freshmen who began high school in the 2000-2001 school year in Elmwood Park may separate from public education by their senior year in 2004. The effectiveness level for this demographic group is 7.6% or lower. The mean cumulative dropout rate for the cohort is 6.4%. The cumulative drop out rate in Elmwood Park does not attain the mean or effectiveness level.
The principal bases for student success are the ability to read at or very near grade level and to receive effective instruction. Efforts to improve student achievement in reading will have short and long-term benefits in overall student success and, all other things equal, will have a positive effect on the school’s holding power over high school students. In addition to those initiatives currently practiced in the Elmwood Park Schools, the following specific strategies may be effective in increasing the numbers of students who complete a high school education in the Elmwood Park CUSD 401:
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