Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High School’s dropout rate in the 2019-20 school year increased by 45.2% compared to the previous school year’s dropout rate of 30.1%, according to the California Department of Education (CDE).
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 | School | Drop-out rate | 2018-19 Drop-out rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Millennium High Alternative | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Piedmont High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Emery Secondary School | 0 | 2.7 | |
| 1 | Amador County Special Education | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Durham High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Mid Valley High School (Continuation) | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Williams Junior/Senior High School | 0 | 3.4 | |
| 1 | Freedom High School | 0 | 1.4 | |
| 1 | Middle College High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Golden Sierra Junior Senior High School | 0 | 2.5 | |
| 1 | Kingsburg High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Oasis Continuation High School | 0 | — | |
| 1 | Princeton Junior-Senior High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Ferndale High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Desert Junior-Senior High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Frazier Mountain High School | 0 | 3.8 | |
| 1 | Earl F. Johnson High School (Continuation) | 0 | 1.7 | |
| 1 | Whitney (Gretchen) High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Mayfair High School | 0 | 1.2 | |
| 1 | South Hills High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Arena High School (Continuation) | 0 | 11.1 | |
| 1 | El Segundo High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | La Canada High School | 0 | 0.6 | |
| 1 | Lake Balboa College Preparatory Magnet K-12 | 0 | 0 | |
| … | ||||
| 2028 | Ingenuity Charter | 40.4 | 51.4 | |
| 2029 | Santa Cruz County Community | 40.6 | 47.8 | |
| 2030 | Elm High School | 40.7 | 37.2 | |
| 2031 | Valley Merced Community | 41 | 41.9 | |
| 2031 | Placer County Pathways Charter | 41 | 7.1 | |
| 2033 | John B. Allard | 41.2 | 29.4 | |
| 2033 | Options for Youth-San Juan | 41.2 | 42 | |
| 2035 | Provisional Accelerated Learning Academy | 41.3 | 49.3 | |
| 2036 | Palisade Glacier High School (Continuation) | 41.4 | 5.6 | |
| 2037 | San Diego County Community | 41.5 | 45.5 | |
| 2038 | Pacific High School | 41.6 | 7.9 | |
| 2039 | West Side Valley High School (Continuation) | 41.7 | 18.8 | |
| 2040 | Mountain High School | 41.9 | 44.4 | |
| 2041 | Robertson High School (Continuation) | 42.1 | 15.8 | |
| 2041 | Desert Winds Continuation High School | 42.1 | 61.3 | |
| 2041 | Solano County Community | 42.1 | 76.5 | |
| 2044 | Ellington (Duke) High School (Continuation) | 42.3 | 29.8 | |
| 2044 | San Joaquin County Community | 42.3 | 42.7 | |
| 2046 | Tulare County Community | 42.4 | 53.8 | |
| 2047 | Angel’s Gate (Continuation) | 42.9 | 28.9 | |
| 2048 | Dorothy V. Johnson Community Day | 43.1 | 56.4 | |
| 2049 | Stoney Point Continuation | 43.3 | 32.5 | |
| 2050 | City of Angels | 43.4 | 45.9 | |
| 2051 | Rare Earth High School (Continuation) | 43.5 | 40 | |
| 2051 | Broadway High School | 43.5 | 12.6 | |
| 2053 | Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High School | 43.7 | 30.1 | |
| 2053 | Black Rock Alternative/Continuation | 43.7 | 11.1 | |
| 2055 | Civicorps Corpsmember Academy | 43.8 | 93.3 | |
| 2055 | Phoenix High Community Day | 43.8 | 26.7 | |
| 2057 | View Park Continuation | 43.9 | 27 | |
| 2058 | Yuba City Independence Academy | 44 | 37.1 | |
| 2059 | Opportunities for Learning – Duarte | 44.1 | 30.1 | |
| 2060 | Providence | 44.2 | 42.9 | |
| 2061 | Endeavor Alternative | 44.4 | 39.5 | |
| 2061 | Santa Clara County Community | 44.4 | 60.6 | |
| 2063 | Cambridge Continuation High School | 44.6 | 36.4 | |
| 2064 | Northern United – Humboldt Charter | 44.7 | — | |
| 2065 | Windsor Oaks Academy | 45 | 21.1 | |
| 2066 | Opportunities for Learning – Santa Clarita | 45.1 | 37.9 | |
| 2067 | Sierra High School (Continuation) | 45.5 | 43.8 | |
| 2067 | Boys Republic High School | 45.5 | 35.3 | |
| 2067 | Soldier Mountain High School (Continuation) | 45.5 | 18.8 | |
| 2067 | Renaissance County Community | 45.5 | 42.3 | |
| 2067 | Road to Success Academy at Campus Kilpatrick | 45.5 | — | |
| 2072 | Jack London Community Day | 45.8 | 40 | |
| 2073 | Options for Youth-San Bernardino | 46.1 | 42.3 | |
| 2074 | Eagle Summit Community Day | 46.2 | — | |
| 2074 | Maine Prairie High School (Continuation) | 46.2 | 41.2 | |
| 2074 | Laguna High School | 46.2 | 22 | |
| 2074 | Independence Continuation High School | 46.2 | — | |
| 2074 | California Pacific Charter – San Diego | 46.2 | 26.4 | |
| … | ||||
| 2167 | Oroville High Community Day | 81.8 | 90.9 | |
| 2169 | Gould Educational Center | 82.4 | 17.2 | |
| 2170 | Come Back Charter | 83.7 | — | |
| 2171 | Gateway High School (Continuation) | 84.6 | 36.4 | |
| 2172 | Tulare County Court | 85.7 | 54.1 | |
| 2173 | Dan Jacobs | 88.9 | 86.7 | |
| 2174 | Matrix for Success Academy | 89.6 | — | |
| 2175 | Violet Heintz Education Academy | 90 | 66.7 | |
| 2175 | EPIC de Cesar Chavez | 90 | 85.3 | |
| 2177 | Escuela Popular/Center for Training and Careers Family Learning | 90.2 | 90.1 | |
| 2178 | Independence Charter Academy | 90.3 | 6.3 | |
| 2179 | Five Keys Adult School (SF Sheriff’s) | 91.4 | 73.8 | |
| 2180 | Highlands Community Charter | 91.6 | 76.2 | |
| 2181 | S.F. County Special Education | 91.7 | 75 | |
| 2182 | SIATech Academy South | 92.1 | 87.7 | |
| 2183 | Five Keys Independence HS (SF Sheriff’s) | 92.4 | 24.8 | |
| 2184 | Clear Passage Educational Center | 92.9 | — | |
| 2185 | Boron Junior-Senior High School | 93.2 | 0 | |
| 2186 | Laytonville High School | 93.8 | 3.2 | |
| 2187 | Five Keys Charter (SF Sheriff’s) | 95.5 | 63.3 | |
| 2188 | San Bernardino County Special Education | 96.1 | 47.4 | |
| 2189 | Shasta County Independent Study Charter | 97.3 | 44.3 | |
| 2190 | Family First Charter | 98 | 92.7 | |
| 2191 | New Opportunities Charter | 98.2 | 96.5 | |
| 2192 | Special Education | 98.6 | — | |
