Student dropout rate surges in North Texas

About 46,000 Texas students from grades 7-12 dropped out in the 2020-21 academic year — a 34% increase from the 2018-19 school year, according to Texas Education Agency data.

Why it matters: Increasing dropout rates are another example of how the pandemic has disrupted kids' lives and academic achievement.

• In Texas, the dropout rate among high schoolers before the pandemic was 1.9%. It rose to 2.4% in the 2020-21 school year.

The big picture: Nationwide, the country's public school system lost more than 1.3 million students in the 2020-21 academic year, according to an Education Week analysis.

• The dropouts are linked with the pandemic and the glitchy transition from online to hybrid to in-person learning.

Zoom in: Nearly 14,000 North Texas students from grades 7-12 dropped out in the 2020-21 school year.

• Dallas ISD recorded 2,659 dropouts from grades 7-12 in the school year, which ended in May. There were 2,243 the previous year.
• Fort Worth ISD recorded 1,420 dropouts in the 2020-21 school year. There were 1,112 the previous year.

Details: In addition to the students who dropped out, 79,000 students left the school system, largely to enroll in private schools or for homeschooling, according to Texas Education Agency data.

• This number also includes students who died or left to return to their home country.

Yes, but: The statewide graduation rate remained at 90% among the Class of 2021, the same as the Class of 2019.

Between the lines: The dropout rate is highest among students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or are Black, Indigenous, Hispanic or Pacific Islander, according to the TEA breakdown.

What's next: Nationwide data for the most recent school year isn't expected to be released until 2023.