Little known are the numbers of school dropouts in Chile, their impacts and associated risk factors. According to ECLAC data, in Chile, 10% of high school students drop out of the education system, the figure being more intense in difficult contexts, in which 8 out of 10 cases correspond to students in poverty. As indicated by MINEDUC figures, school dropouts are higher for the first two socioeconomic quintiles and in secondary education, specifically in I and III.

Fig 1. Incidence rate of school dropout by grade

Source: Corporación Option based on MINEDUC statistics .

The risk factors (or early warning) associated with dropping out are key when understanding the problem, according to the Technical Guidance document School Retention Plan Middle School Level developed by MINEDUC, these correspond to:

Low average grades and student performance

Low attendance to classes

2 or more course repetitions

Discipline problems

Second language students

Mothers or teenage parents who continue to attend regular school.

In the same way, other associated risk factors correspond to:

Consumption of drugs and alcohol by children and young school system dropouts

Consumption of drugs in the student 's immediate environment

The quality agency , since the emergence of the SAC (Quality Assurance System) law, included the dimension of school retention as part of a more comprehensive vision of quality in education. As indicated by the agency, the indicator assesses the capacity of an educational establishment to achieve the permanence of its students in the formal education system. The spirit behind the measurement is that students remain in the formal educational system so that they acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes expected to be developed during their school years.

Sources

[1] Results Report Performance Category 2016, Quality Assurance System.

[2] Instagram image by @martina_illustrates