There is a subset of the American student population that has a significantly greater probability of dropping out of school prior to earning their high school diploma than all other students.
Supporting evidence for propositional statement. According to Knopf (l984), there are a cluster of factors that operate to place some students at risk for leaving school prior to earning their high school diploma. These factors, Knopf states, are varied and include: articulation problems, antisocial/delinquency problems, drug abuse problems, hyperkinesis, low IQ, reading and other learning disabilities, school phobia and low socioeconomic status.
Some insight into the magnitude of the contribution exerted by each of these factors is provided by Santrock (l98l) who has noted that:
Students with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders sometimes quit school, but . . . approximately 22 of every 100 students who enter fifth grade this year will not graduate from high school for reasons other than a physical or mental handicap . . . [Approximately 85 percent of these future dropouts] . . are from lower-class families of various racial backgrounds. (p. 312)
In a study conducted by Mackey (l977), it was concluded that high school dropouts have certain psychobehavioral characteristics that place them more at risk of leaving school. First, Mackey stated that students who drop out of school experience feelings of personal inadequacy to a far greater extent than the regular school population. In other words, these students' senses of having the abilities and skills for academic success is very debilitated and this puts them at higher risk of dropping out of school.
In addition to the foregoing, Mackey (l977) observed that students who drop out of school prior to earning their high school diplomas also experience significantly greater feelings of "guidelessness" (the rejection of conventional rules and regulations as avenues for succe...