Final answer:
Hispanic students had the highest school dropout rates in the U.S., especially in the 1980s, with over a third leaving school. Economic issues and limited access to bilingual education contributed to this problem, while American Indians and Native Hawaiians also face similar challenges.
Step-by-step explanation:
The group with the highest dropout rate in the U.S. are Hispanic students. In the 1980s, over a third of Hispanic students dropped out of school, which was significantly higher than the rates for other groups. Contributing factors include language barriers, as many Hispanic students come from non-English-speaking homes, and economic challenges, as these communities frequently have less access to costly educational programs such as bilingual education. Furthermore, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians also face significant challenges and have higher dropout rates compared to the national average, largely due to poverty, unemployment, and lack of access to consistent and quality education. Lastly, the achievement gap between low-income households and their higher-income peers is substantial, with far lower graduation rates and higher dropout rates noted among children from the former.