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Returning Dropouts Said to Face Too Tough a Road to Graduation

In the research on dropouts, the experiences of students like Robert Ortega, an 18-year-old senior at San Bernardino High School in California who dropped out of high school and re-enrolled twice, were once an invisible piece of the puzzle.

That’s because most studies on dropouts tend to focus on their numbers and what causes them to give up on school. A study released last week by researchers from WestEd , a San Francisco-based research group, takes a different tack, shedding a spotlight on the students who come back.

The study examines what happens to high school dropouts when they return to their studies, whether they graduate on the second, third, or fourth try, and the systemic disincentives that conspire to keep them...