Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2008

This report discusses the various rates used to study how students complete or fail to complete high school and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates from 1972 to 2008, along with more recent estimates of on-time graduation from public high schools. Among the findings in the report was that in October 2008, roughly 3 million civilian noninstitutionalized 16- through 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential. These dropouts represented 8% of the 38 million non-institutionalized individuals in this age group in the U.S.