Some California dropouts finish high school but don't succeed beyond, study finds

[one...two...tree 2,762]

A little more than half receive a high school diploma or equivalent, but 90% never enroll in college or drop out after they do, according to the California Dropout Research Project.

By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

For most high school dropouts, reality sets in sooner or later: Without a high school diploma, their prospects in life are limited at best.

A study released Thursday confirms that many California dropouts give school another try. But the California Dropout Research Project also reports that even dropouts who go back to school appear to stand little chance of success in college. And in an economy that increasingly prizes academic success, the outlook is bleak for those who don't return to school at all.

"Kids who drop out of school are at risk in general -- we know that," said Russell Rumberger, a professor at UC Santa Barbara who leads the dropout project.

But, he added, he was alarmed by the study's finding that one in three of the students who dropped out of 10th grade in 2004 were doing nothing four years later -- not going to school or working.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dr...story?track=rss