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THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2002

American Indian students have the highest dropout rate in the state of Montana, the Office of Public Instruction says in a recent report.

For the four school years ending in 2001, the average dropout rate for Indian high school students was 11 percent. For Indian students in junior high, the dropout rate was 2.4 percent.

By comparison, the rate of dropouts among white students in high school was 3.6 percent. In junior high, it was 0.2 percent.

Despite these figures, Rep. Carol Juneau, who chairs the Montana-Wyoming Indian Education Association, says the number of Indian dropouts is higher. She cites her own research showing 52 percent of Native students fail to graduate after a four years.

The association is holding its conference this weekend in Great Falls.

Get the Story:
52% of Indian students fail to graduate, lawmaker says (The Billings Gazette 4/4)

Relevant Links:
Office of Public Instruction - http://www.opi.state.mt.us/index.html

Related Stories:
Education conference set in Mont. (4/1)
Mont. Indian students falling behind (10/16)