This report examines the dimensions, causes, and consequences of the dropout problem for California youth aged 12-17. School enrollment data and data from the 1976 Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Survey of Income and Education (SIE) were used to assess the current dropout rate. SIE statistics were also used to describe the age, sex, ethnic background, family income, employment status, and marriage rate characteristics of the dropout population. The dropouts' reasons for leaving school are analyzed in terms of those forces within the school which create dissatisfaction and alienation and those forces outside the school (jobs, marriage, child bearing) which attract students away from school. Personal and public costs of dropping out in the areas of employment and welfare dependency, pregnancy and child bearing, violence and vandalism, and juvenile delinquency are assessed. A review of California programs dealing with the dropout problem includes descriptions and evaluations of attendance and truancy programs, continuation high schools, counseling programs, independent study programs, and vocational education programs. General conclusions which provide a framework for public discussions are offered. (Author/BE)