The Estrie region has known for over 10 years the lowest dropout rate, with 23.2% in 2009-2010. For that school year, including school leavers, nearly one in four young people had left school without a qualification or diploma. Over the last five years, in Estrie, close to 3,325 young estriens have left school without qualifications or diploma.

A THREE-YEAR APPROACH TO BREAK THE TREND…

Based on the annual data produced by the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS), the MELS regional directorate in Estrie calculates an average rate over three years. This calculation method minimizes the “cohort effect” that causes annual, and at times significant, fluctuations. This three-year approach focuses as much attention on school dropout rate trends as on annual fluctuations.

MELS's indicators related to the target to achieve by 2011

Target 1: A 20% reduction in the number of youth in the public system who annually leave high school without a diploma or qualification, from a dropout rate of 34% to 27%*.

*Calculated target according to "bilan 2" results.

There, for the Estrie's school boards, as for the 72 school boards in the Quebec province, reduced dropout rates. However, during the study period, the gap between the Estrie region and Québec has narrowed from 4,6 percentage points (% pts), three-year average for 2002 to 2005, to 3.0 % pts for the 2007 to 2010.

For the same period, Estrie has progressed further than Quebec since its dropout rate decreased by 4.7% pts from 29.3% to 24.6%, while that Quebec's rate went from 24, 7% to 21.6%, a decrease of 3.1% pts.

Target 2: A 20% reduction in the number of boys that dropout of high school annually in the public system, from a dropout rate of 48% to 36.9%*.

*Calculated target according to "bilan 2" results.

The dropout rate for boys is calculated relatively to the number of boys who left school and not the overall number of school leavers. The calculation is identical for girls.

For all of Quebec, in recent years, the graduation rate has declined significantly until 2007. Since there is increasing from 53.0% in 2007 to 57.5% in 2010, an increase of 4.5% pts.

In Estrie, over the past 5 years, the graduation rate rose from 50.1% to 55.8% allowing the region to achieve the target. Between 2005 and 2010 the situation is changing sawtooth but an upward trend emerges clearly.

The gap between Quebec and Estrie tends to decline.