What Kind of Students Are More Likely To Drop Out of Career Magnets?
There is no easy way to answer this question. Even students in the process of dropping out are not always able to evaluate which of the various pressures was the most substantial. Our best information on this subject comes from asking, “What are the characteristics of dropouts that distinguish them from students that stay in school?” These characteristics differ slightly between career magnet programs and regular comprehensive schools, and in an unexpected way. Table 2.1 shows the eighth-grade factors that predict the graduation rate for lottery winners and lottery losers. The first two factors–eighth-grade absenteeism and middle-school grades–can be thought of as motivational. They reflect a lack of interest or a lack of motivation. The last two–their middle-school reading and math scores–measure cognitive ability. The hypothesis is straightforward: The comprehensive high school teaches academics and evaluates students on their academic performance; therefore, it should be difficu
