State leads U.S. in dropout rate

Tuesday, May 22, 2001 | 11 a.m.

Nevada ranks last in the nation for high school dropouts, highest in teenage deaths from accidents, homicide and suicide, and high in teen pregnancy, a national report released today says.

"That's scary," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after hearing that Nevada tied for 49th for the number of dropouts in the state, finished 50th in deaths of 15- to 19-year-olds and placed 40th in teen pregnancy in the 12th annual Kids Count survey.

"With 3,000 students dropping out of school every day nationwide and Nevada leading the nation, we should be embarrassed, and we should be working hard with both summer and after-school dropout prevention programs to keep children in schools," Reid said.

Nevada tied Arizona with 17 percent of the state's 16- to 19-year-olds saying they had not completed high school, compared with the national average of 9 percent.

Nevada had 86 teen deaths per 100,000, compared with 54 per 100,000 nationally.

The state also had 38 births per 1,000 teens 15 to 17 years old, compared with the national average of 30 per 1,000, according to the 2001 Kids Count Data Book.

Nevada, which also finished last in the 2000 survey for the number of high school dropouts, placed 40th overall for the general welfare of its children, down from 35th in 2000. A major reason for that dip was the sharp tumble in teen deaths, from 30th place to the cellar.

The 2001 survey used 1998 data.

Although Nevada improved in seven of the 10 categories from last year, the state managed to make the top 10 in just one category: It had the eighth best standing in percentage of children living in poverty.

While there is no evidence that kids who drop out of school are at greater risk of death from accidents or crime or are at greater risk to get pregnant, Reid said the Kids Count findings indicate at least an anecdotal connection.

"You have a 16-year-old who is not in school and cannot get a job without an education, what is he or she going to do?" Reid said. "There is dope, there is crime and there is other trouble waiting -- and often it involves kids who were not in trouble until they dropped out of school.

"One national statistic says it all -- 82 percent of people in prison did not graduate from high school. So every dollar we spend to keep kids in school is a dollar well invested in improving our society."

Reid said he is working on legislation such as allocating federal money for after-school incentive programs to keep kids in schools "but the states also have to do their part."

One of Reid's recently passed bills was based on a 1992 Las Vegas program that teaches English-deficient children the language. A glowing success story from that program, Reid said, was Evilia Gomez, the 1999 Las Vegas High School valedictorian who, when she started school locally, spoke not a word of English and was at risk to drop out.

Overall, this year's Kids Count survey, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation of Baltimore, found that the five states that do the best for their children, in order, are New Hampshire (second in 2000), Minnesota (first in 2000), Utah (sixth in 2000), Massachusetts (seventh in 2000) and Wisconsin (fourth in 2000).

The survey said the five worst states in providing for their kids were, from the bottom, Mississippi (49th in 2000), Louisiana (50th in 2000), New Mexico (46th in 2000), Arkansas (48th in 2000) and Alabama (47th in 2000).

"This report indicates our teens are having a tough time in the areas of education and health," Marlys Morton, coordinator for Nevada Kids Count, said. "But it is overall a mixed report. We see improvement in many of the categories, but often not at a rate comparable to the national average."

Nevada's infant mortality rate, which at 7 per deaths per 1,000 live births, exceeded the national average of 7.2 per 1,000, and placed Nevada 16th overall, the same as in 2000. But, Morton notes, "although we are 17 percent better than we were in 1990, in that same period, the national average improved 22 percent.

"We are heading in the right direction, but we still are not catching up in some areas."

The Kids Count dropout statistics have long been challenged by Clark County School District officials, who have maintained that the Kids Count report uses a statistical method that differs greatly from Nevada's formula. Nevada officials count of students enrolled in the system who drop out. That is significantly lower than Kids Count's tabulation of 16- to 19-year-olds who should be in school but do not enroll.

Using the method employed by the Clark County School District, locally there was just a 9 percent dropout rate for ninth through 12th graders during the 1998-99 school year and just a 6.9 percent rate for 1999-2000. Last year, Kids Count also reported a 17 percent dropout rate for Nevada.

Morton said the high teen death rate possibly is a "one-year spike" that occasionally occurs in such surveys and usually returns to previous levels the following year. In the 2000 Kids Count report, Nevada had just 66 deaths per 100,000 teens.

Morton said teen pregnancy remains "one of our strongest challenges." However, Morton said the teen pregnancy rate improved from 42 per 1,000 births and improved from its 2000 rank of 42nd.

Other findings in the Kids Count survey regarding Nevada:

* 8th in children living in poverty at 15 percent, 5 percent better than the national average (2000: 7th, 14 percent).

* 13th in children living with parents who do not have full-time year-round employment at 22 percent, 4 percent behind the national average (2000: 13th, 24 percent).