Longitudinal dropout rates (LDR's) for public school students and LDR's of pupil membership by ethnic group based on two Texas Education Agency reports are estimated. LDR's are calculated for the state, by school district size, for the 21 largest districts, and by average high school size. Findings dispel the prevalent perception of the dropout problem as primarily a nonwhite problem. The dropout problem, extremely serious among all ethnic groups in large urban districts, may be the most serious among white students in these districts. A second conclusion is that school size is a strong factor in determining degree of dropout risk, and that smaller schools are more conducive to student retention. The recommendation is made for multidimensional analysis of aggregate data. Six figures are included in the text. (15 references) (LMI)