The dropout rate in the Rowan-Salisbury School System fell during the 2010-11 school year, according to data released today by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
While Rowan-Salisbury’s 22.5 percent decrease in the number of students who dropped out mirrored a statewide trend, Kannapolis City Schools saw a 3.8 percent increase.
In Rowan-Salisbury, 214 students dropped out school last academic year, for a dropout rate of 3.36. That’s down from 276 students and a rate of 4.24 in the 2009-10 school year, the state reported.
Rowan-Salisbury outperformed statewide figures.
Across North Carolina, 15,342 students dropped out last year, compared with 16,804 the previous year. The dropout rate went from 3.75 in 2009-10 to 3.43 in 2010-11.
Last school year, 81 students left Kannapolis City Schools short of graduation, up from 78 the previous year. In the much smaller school system, that increased the dropout rate from 5.29 to 5.44, according to state figures.
Cabarrus County Schools also saw more students drop out last year, going from 218 in 2009-10 to 225 in 2010-11. That’s a 3.2 percent increase and pushed the district’s dropout rate from 2.54 to 2.57.