Poverty sharply increases school dropout rates among students with disabilities

Dr. José Caraballo-Cueto is a professor in the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.

By THE STAR STAFF

Research by a University of Puerto Rico professor has found that poverty sharply increases the risk of school dropout among students with specific learning disabilities, especially when economic hardship and disability overlap.

The study, published in the Journal of Disability Policy Studies, analyzed more than 2.4 million student observations from Puerto Rico’s public school system between 2015 and 2021.

The research was conducted by Dr. José Caraballo-Cueto, a professor at the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. It found that poverty is the leading factor associated with dropout risk among students with specific learning disabilities, increasing the likelihood that they will leave school by 2.5 times.

The article, titled “Is There a Mediating Factor Between Specific Learning Disabilities and School Dropouts?,” examines how disability, poverty and school dropout interact in Puerto Rico’s public education system.

Using panel logistic regression models with random effects, the study reviewed student-level data from 2015 through 2021, making it one of the most comprehensive analyses of the issue conducted in Puerto Rico.

One of the study’s central findings is that having a specific learning disability, on its own, does not significantly increase a student’s likelihood of dropping out. The risk rises substantially, however, when that disability is combined with poverty, which emerged as the most significant factor in the statistical model.

The study also found that Hurricane Maria and shortcomings in the institutional response increased the probability of school dropout by 85% during the academic year after the disaster. Male students faced an 18% higher risk of dropping out, while each additional year of age raised the probability by 21%, underscoring the vulnerability of adolescents.

During the period studied, 33,704 students dropped out of Puerto Rico’s public school system, a number equivalent to the enrollment of about 95 average-sized schools.

“Our results demonstrate that the main challenge is not the learning disability itself, but rather the surrounding socioeconomic conditions,” Caraballo-Cueto said. “When poverty is combined with a specific learning disability, educational opportunities are significantly reduced. If we want to decrease school dropout rates, public policies must simultaneously address economic inequality and strengthen educational support for these students.”

The research notes that Puerto Rico is a particularly important setting for studying the issue because of its high poverty levels and the lasting effects of major disruptions such as Hurricane Maria. During the study period, about 12.8% of students in the public system had a specific learning disability, and roughly 79% lived in poverty. In addition, 20.4% of Puerto Rico’s adult population does not hold a high school diploma, twice the U.S. average.

Based on the findings, Caraballo-Cueto recommends policies that address both economic conditions and educational supports. The recommendations include strengthening poverty-reduction programs that help families enter the workforce, creating school programs that encourage adolescents to remain enrolled before reaching 11th grade, reducing student-teacher ratios, evaluating psychological and educational therapies for students with learning disabilities, and ensuring that disaster preparedness plans protect the continuity of educational services.

The study offers empirical evidence for policies aimed at reducing dropout rates and promoting more equitable education for students facing heightened social and economic vulnerability.