Local High School Dropout Rates Well Below State, County Averages

The dropout rate for the  class of 2010 was about five times lower than the county and state’s averages, according to figures released today by the California Department of Education.

According to the numbers, the San Dieguito Union High School District had a 3.1 percent dropout rate — while San Diego County had a 15.9 percent dropout rate, and the state had an 18.2 percent dropout rate.

Here’s a breakdown of how some other North County school districts fared:

Carlsbad Unified: 4.9 percent dropout rate

Fallbrook Union: 9.8 percent

Oceanside Unified: 12.5 percent

Poway Unified: 2.4 percent

San Marcos Unified: 16.7 percent

Vista Unified: 11.7 percent

The dropout figures are the first from a new system that tracked
students beginning when they started ninth grade in the 2006-07 school year and following them as they left, transferred and sometimes returned.

The more transitory student population could not be accounted for with the old methodology, according to the Department of Education. Education officials stressed that because the methodology is different, the data cannot be compared to previous years' dropout numbers.

City News Service contributed to this report.