Mac Iver, Martha A. Baltimore Education Research Consortium, August 2010. The majority of students who eventually drop out of high school enter 9th grade with a pattern of chronic absenteeism that goes back at least several years, the study shows. Many have been retained and are behind at least one grade. It is critical to begin interventions in middle school. For those already in high school who have become entrenched in patterns of chronic absenteeism and course failure and have not succeeded in earning many high school course credits, it appears that more non-traditional options for earning a diploma would be helpful. At the same time, a more intensive focus on intervention and prevention during the middle grades is one of the most crucial directions for reducing the dropout rate.