Canadian Students Are Staying in School

Dropout rate, non-students aged 20 to 24, 1990/1991 to 2009/2010

As Canadian University enrollments continue to climb, Canadian high school students have also seen the benefits of staying in school and completing their education.

The Centre for Education Statistics released a report today that indicated that dropout rates have been cut in half. In 1990-91, Canada’s dropout rate was 16.6%, and has since shrunk to 8.5 per cent in 2009-10.

The report, titled “Trends in dropout rates and the labour market outcomes of young dropouts,” defines dropouts as 20- to 24-year-olds who are not currently in school and who have not graduated from high school. It takes a look at province-by- province data and shows a dramatic fall in dropout rates across the board.

Their data also says that dropout rates climb as you go outside larger cities, with higher rates in the territories, and among Aboriginal youth.

The report also states that the unemployment rate for high-school dropouts aged 20 to 24 was more than double that for high-school graduates of the same age.