The Hidden Crisis in the High School Dropout Problems of Young Adults in the U.S.: Recent Trends in Overall School Dropout Rates and Gender Differences in Dropout Behavior.

This report examines how successful America's high schools have been in raising high school graduation rates over the past decade and how severe the high school dropout problem actually is. It reviews existing empirical evidence on the school dropout problems of America's youth during the 1990s. It also presents evidence to support the view that some of the more widely cited official government measures of school dropout rates substantially underestimate the number of youth who drop out. The evidence on dropout rates, the report states, is quite mixed and controversial. Specifically, the report examines the following: (1) official and alternative estimates of school dropout rates; (2) dropout rates among young adults; (3) high school dropout rates based on data from the U.S. Department of Education and selected states; (4) annual high school dropout rates in large public school districts; (5) the differences in dropout rates between the behavior of men and women dropouts; and (6) estimates of high school graduation rates with the annual high school diploma data. The text is supplemented by 31 tables, 5 charts, 5 appendices, and 50 footnotes, many of which contain references. (WFA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.