Over the years, America has faced one of the most significant problems in education: school dropout. “With more than 26% of students failing to graduate on time each year in the United States, we face a growing national crisis” (Choice 1). The percentage of school dropouts has decreased over time, but still seems to become a dilemma in the country. “The dropout rate fell from 12 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 2011” (U.S. Department of Education), but it appears to remain the same and is even increasing. Many factors come into play in a student's decision to drop out of school early. These factors include race-ethnicity, academic factors, and social/student factors. ETHNICITY “The national percentage of young people aged 15 to 24 who had abandoned their status in 2000 was 10.9%. This translates to more than 3 million students. Broken down by race, the rates were: White, 6.9%; Asian, 3.8%; African Americans, 13.1%; and Hispanic, 27.8%” (Blue 1). Ethnicity plays a major role in students' dropout decisions. Many minorities have a higher dropout percentage than whites. “The estimated range of minority dropout rates is particularly high, from 50% to 85%” (Jordan 2). The two largest minority groups affected by high school dropout rates are African Americans and Hispanics. “The most recent national data is for dropout rates between October 1998 and October 1999 for students in grades 10 through 12. As shown below, 5% of all students dropped out of high school; among them, nearly 8 percent of Hispanic students dropped out, and more than 6 percent of African-American students dropped out, compared to only 4 percent of white students” (Blue 1). SCHOOL FACTORS A student's academic performance can affect his or her decision in...... middle of paper ......ve the attention needed from parents to attend school. If there is no support from family, students will feel like school doesn't matter. Additionally, students who are going through a lot of difficulties may feel that the school is not helping them with their situation. “Students from neighborhoods with socio-economic difficulties believe that completing their studies does not offer much to improve the quality of life in their neighborhood or to ensure mobility towards a better one” (4). Many students must begin working to support their families, face poverty, and deal with health problems that will prevent them from completing their education. “Many students gave personal reasons for dropping out of school. A third (32%) said they needed to find a job and earn money; 26 percent said they had become parents; and 22 percent said they had to care for a family member” (Bridgeland iii).