Changes in Students' Academic Performance and Perceptions of School and Self Before Dropping Out of Schools

This study was designed to investigate changes in personal attributes of high-school dropout students between 8th grade and 12th grade. Students who participated in 3 waves of data collection in the "National Educational Longitudinal Study: 1988-1994" in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades, but who dropped out before completing high school, were identified. Scales were developed on rational and empirical grounds that measured the following personal attributes: academic performance, relationships with teachers, relationships with peers, perceptions of school, participation in school activities, motivation for school work, effort expended in school work, self-esteem, and locus of control. Longitudinal comparisons in the personal attributes showed a gradually deteriorating process. Except in academic performance, the students scored at the national average in eighth grade. However, their academic performance, relationship with teachers, perception of school, motivation in school work, and participation in school activities were significantly below the national average in the 10th and 12th grades. The study showed a developmental pattern of the personal attributes of dropout students and identified that the transition to high school is a critical yet neglected time when interventions should be provided.