Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of demographic and Effective Schools variables on the Latino dropout rate in comprehensive California high schools. Methodology. Using a survey of administrators and archival data provided by the California State Department of Education, information was collected on 122 of 266 comprehensive high schools in California. The schools in the sample had a minimum Latino enrollment of 20 percent, which according to the United States Bureau of the Census, is typical of the Southwest (1990). The administrators were asked to respond to the San Diego County Office of Education's Effective Schools Survey and a questionnaire developed by the researcher to assess the implementation of Effective Schools characteristics and to collect the demographic data. The California State Department of Education provided data on student enrollment, numbers of Latino dropouts for the 1990 and 1989 years and CAP performance for 1989-90. Correlational methods were used to measure the strength and direction of the relationship between variables and one-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the difference in the Latino dropout rate in schools of different sizes and in different settings. Regression analysis was used to predict the Latino dropout rate from the variables. Findings and conclusions. The Latino dropout rate was defined as the number of Latinos who dropped out compared to the total school population for both years (1989 and 1990) of the study. The mean Latino dropout rate among the responding schools was 3.5 percent for 1989 and 3.4 percent for 1990. Significant positive correlations were found between the Latino dropout rate, school size, and Latino enrollment. Significant negative correlations were found between the Latino dropout rate and the following variables: Latino students' SES; other students' SES for 1989; CAP total school scores for 1989; CAP mathematics for 1990, and CAP reading for both years. One-way analysis of variance revealed a significant increase in the Latino dropout rate as school size increased and significantly more Latino dropouts in urban than in suburban or rural schools. Multiple regression analysis revealed that school size, Latino students' SES and CAP performance (total school score in 1989 and mathematics in 1990) and school setting were significant predictors of the Latino dropout rate. Recommendations. No direct relationship was found between Effective Schools characteristics and the Latino dropout rate in this study; rather an indirect link was found through the significant correlations between CAP performance and the Latino dropout rate. The characteristics of schools performing above the mean in CAP comparison groups, especially when they are large urban schools, should be the subject of study as models for strategies for use in dropout prevention programs. A major conclusion of this study was that school size and setting of themselves are an important element in Latino students' retention. This finding poses a new equity issue different from dollars per pupil expenditures. The size and setting of the schools to which pupils are assigned may determine whether they complete secondary school. Educators, especially those in large urban schools, should incorporate strategies which divide schools into smaller, personalized units such as schools-within schools, homerooms and student advisement programs in their dropout prevention programs to overcome the disadvantage Latino students often encounter in large urban high schools.