Dallas "Dropout Factories" - Dallas ISD schools with 60% or less student retention 9th to 12th grade

Dallas Dropout Factories

This listing of Dallas ISD schools is from the list of 1700 U S high schools designated as “dropout factories” by the John Hopkins University Center for Social Organization of Schools. Every non-magnet Dallas ISD high school, that had graduation classes during the three years under study, made the list. That includes all 21 high schools!
A "dropout factory" is a school with a three year average promoting power ratio of 60% or less for the three classes of 2004, 2005 and 2006. Promoting Power compares the number of seniors (12th-graders) in a high school to the number of freshmen (9th-graders) three years earlier. These enrollment numbers are taken from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data and reported by school districts every fall. Promoting Power essentially tells us the extent to which students in a high school succeed in making it from 9th to 12th grade. It does not say how many actually received a diploma.
School	Average Promoting Power Ratio (Class of 2004, 2005 and 2006)	Class of 2006 Promoting Power Ratio	Class of 2005 Promoting Power Ratio	Class of 2004 Promoting Power Ratio	Beginning Enrollment for the Class of 2006	Total 12th Grade Students for the Class of 2006	Total Calculated Enrollment 2005-06	Percent of Students who were Minorities 2005-06
A MACEO SMITH H S	0.45	0.58	0.39	0.39	343	198	1145	99%
BRYAN ADAMS H S	0.45	0.44	0.45	0.47	1016	449	2391	88%
W H ADAMSON H S	0.44	0.39	0.45	0.48	525	204	1233	99%
DAVID W CARTER H S	0.54	0.57	0.51	0.55	674	383	1872	100%
HILLCREST H S	0.46	0.39	0.53	0.47	731	282	1697	85%
THOMAS JEFFERSON H S	0.40	0.38	0.38	0.43	773	294	1658	99%
JUSTIN F. KIMBALL H S	0.43	0.42	0.46	0.43	668	278	1638	99%
LINCOLN H S	0.60	0.59	0.62	0.58	409	243	1245	100%
JAMES MADISON H S	0.36	0.42	0.33	0.33	282	119	602	100%
NORTH DALLAS H S	0.41	0.37	0.41	0.44	781	290	1715	98%
L G PINKSTON H S	0.40	0.46	0.38	0.35	369	168	1153	99%
ROOSEVELT H S	0.41	0.41	0.40	0.42	320	132	931	99%
SEAGOVILLE H S	0.42	0.43	0.41	0.42	505	216	1155	63%
SKYLINE H S	0.60	0.60	0.61	0.58	1446	871	4596	98%
SOUTH OAK CLIFF H S	0.45	0.60	0.38	0.37	570	343	1533	100%
H GRADY SPRUCE	0.35	0.34	0.34	0.37	729	250	1516	97%
SUNSET H S	0.43	0.39	0.44	0.46	894	346	2111	98%
W W SAMUEL H S	0.34	0.27	0.33	0.41	996	270	1880	98%
W T WHITE H S	0.51	0.51	0.50	0.52	797	406	2253	85%
WOODROW WILSON H S	0.53	0.53	0.54	0.53	530	279	1456	81%
MOISES MOLINA H S	0.50	0.50	0.47	0.53	1024	517	2417	98%
Avg. promotion power ratio = 0.45				Totals =	14382	6538	36197

One of the common Dallas urban myths is that the dropout rate is higher on the south side of Dallas than it is on the north side. In December of 2007 a major Dallas media outlet even printed in an editorial: "The dropout problem is real, particularly on the streets of southern Dallas." When confronted with the following documentation that media outlet refused to make a correction, or even a clarification as to what they may have meant. They allowed this Dallas urban myth to continue.

To fight this myth the above chart was separated below into three separate sections to prove the dropout problem is equally terrible in all sections of Dallas. There is less than a one half of one percent difference between any of these three sections of Dallas for the average promotion ratio for the three years studied in the John Hopkins University study. With the class of '06 the promotion power ratio south of the Trinity was actually 2 percentage points better than North Dallas. However, this is a very small difference. When averaged over three years, 2004-2006, it did not survive.

The high schools listed in the above chart were sorted below by the section of Dallas they are located in. The spreadsheet below has a new column on the left designating the area of the city they are located. All high schools north of the Trinity River and I-30 were given an N for the area generally called North Dallas. All high schools south of the Trinity River were given OC for the area generally called Oak Cliff. All high schools both South of I-30 and east of the Trinity River were given the code SE for the South East area of Dallas, generally the area anchored by Pleasant Grove. With these divisions used this is the result:

Let's work to graduate 50% of all 9th graders on time!
Achieving this 50% goal will add over 900 more students
to each Dallas ISD graduating class!

Due to the progress demonstrated by the increase in 10th grade student numbers at the two high schools attended by Archive Project students, it appears that goal will be achieved at these two formerly highest dropout rate high schools when this 10th grade class graduates in 2010! (See the bar graph to the right.)

While the above report focuses on Dallas, a majority of high schools within Fort Worth ISD (7 out of 13) were also on the "dropout factory" list, (pages 25-29) along with over 12 other "dropout factory" high schools in suburbs that make up the DFW Metroplex. Our schools and students need much more attention. How can we continue to ignore students who are not graduating?

If it was mandatory for every school to have a 10-year, or more, enrollment by grade spreadsheet on their web site, with the number of diplomas given at the end of each year, the ability to hide dropout numbers would be eliminated. Such public documentation of student movement would be a first step in documenting the extent of the dropout crisis we and our children face. Then we may move closer to finding motivation to provide our students the educational services they need and have a right to.

Area of Dallas High School located		School	Average Promoting Power Ratio (Class of 2004, 2005 and 2006)	Class of 2006 Promoting Power Ratio	Class of 2005 Promoting Power Ratio	Class of 2004 Promoting Power Ratio	Beginning Enrollment for the Class of 2006	Total 12th Grade Students for the Class of 2006	Total Calculated Enrollment 2005-06	Percent of Students who were Minorities 2005-06
N		W T WHITE H S	0.51	0.51	0.50	0.52	797	406	2253	0.85
N		THOMAS JEFFERSON H S	0.40	0.38	0.38	0.43	773	294	1658	0.99
N		HILLCREST H S	0.46	0.39	0.53	0.47	731	282	1697	0.85
N		NORTH DALLAS H S	0.41	0.37	0.41	0.44	781	290	1715	0.98
N		A MACEO SMITH H S	0.45	0.58	0.39	0.39	343	198	1145	0.99
N		BRYAN ADAMS H S	0.45	0.44	0.45	0.47	1016	449	2391	0.88
N		WOODROW WILSON H S	0.53	0.53	0.54	0.53	530	279	1456	0.81
OC		DAVID W CARTER H S	0.54	0.57	0.51	0.55	674	383	1872	1
OC		W H ADAMSON H S	0.44	0.39	0.45	0.48	525	204	1233	0.99
OC		MOISES MOLINA H S	0.50	0.50	0.47	0.53	1024	517	2417	0.98
OC		ROOSEVELT H S	0.41	0.41	0.40	0.42	320	132	931	0.99
OC		L G PINKSTON H S	0.40	0.46	0.38	0.35	369	168	1153	0.99
OC		F. KIMBALL H S JUSTIN	0.43	0.42	0.46	0.43	668	278	1638	0.99
OC		SOUTH OAK CLIFF H S	0.45	0.60	0.38	0.37	570	343	1533	1
OC		SUNSET H S	0.43	0.39	0.44	0.46	894	346	2111	0.98
SE		SEAGOVILLE H S	0.42	0.43	0.41	0.42	505	216	1155	0.63
SE		JAMES MADISON H S	0.36	0.42	0.33	0.33	282	119	602	1
SE		SKYLINE H S	0.60	0.60	0.61	0.58	1446	871	4596	0.98
SE		LINCOLN H S	0.60	0.59	0.62	0.58	409	243	1245	1
SE		W W SAMUEL H S	0.34	0.27	0.33	0.41	996	270	1880	0.98
SE		H GRADY SPRUCE	0.35	0.34	0.34	0.37	729	250	1516	0.97
	Average promotion power ratio =		0.451	2006	2005	Totals = 2004	14382 9th	6538 12th	36197 total
Promotion ratio North of Trinity & I-30 =			0.450	0.448	0.450	0.455	696	299	1677	0.917
Promotion ratio South of Trinity (OC) =			0.450	0.468	0.436	0.449	631	296	1611	0.990
Promotion ratio South of I-30/East of Trinity =			0.445	0.442	0.440	0.448	728	328	1832	0.927
The above separations indicate the high schools in these three areas of Dallas have virtually equal percentages of 9th grade students not making it to senior year with their class.
The promotion ratio is the percentage of 9th graders who are in the 12th grade within 4 years with their classmates. Of these seniors, 96.2% have received a diploma within Dallas ISD since 1997. This is taken from the 11 year enrollment history for Dallas ISD. Subtracting the 56% of 9th graders who have not gotten a diploma with their class leaves 44% of 9th graders getting diplomas with their cohort on average during the past 7 years. This 56% of students may have graduated later, or gotten a GED. Thus 56% is not a strict dropout rate.