Wisconsin's Dropout Rate is Lowest in Nation
Wisconsin has the lowest high school dropout rate in the nation, according
to a new report.
The 1999 Kids
Count Data Book, issued by the Annie
E. Casey Foundation, evaluates children’s health. Kids Count
listed Wisconsin’s dropout rate as 4% between 1985 and 1996. Department
of Public Instruction figures put the state’s 1998 dropout rate at
2.5%.
Wisconsin also ranked first in the country for the lowest percentage
of “idle teenagers,” defined as teens not attending school and
not working. About 4% of Wisconsin teens are classified as “idle,”
compared to a national rate of 9%.
Wisconsin ranked fourth overall in terms of child well-being. The report
used 10 risk factors ranging from infant mortality to family income and
high school dropout rates to rank child well-being.
The percent of Wisconsin children in poverty was 13% in 1996, down from
16% in 1985. That is the sixth lowest level in the country. The number
of Wisconsin families with children headed by a single parent rose, however,
from 20% in 1985 to 23% in 1996. That is the sixth lowest in the nation.
Posted May 24, 1999