This is a report on high school dropouts in the Los Angeles Unified School District during 1979-80. The study covered 110 secondary schools and sought to determine: 1) the frequency and rate of school leaving among tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders; 2) the characteristics of the leaver; and 3) reasons for leaving school. The data were collected from students'"Record of Transfer" forms. Results showed that: 1) the total number of regular high school leavers in 1979-80 equaled approximately 5 percent of the 1979 senior high school population; 2) students tended to leave school more frequently during the second semester of the school year; 3) more males than females left school; 4) the proportions of black or Hispanic school leavers tended to be greater than their respective proportions in the total high school student population; 5) the most frequent reason given for leaving was "overage" among eleventh and twelfth graders; 6) a large number of tenth graders were dropped from attendance rolls and classified as "whereabouts unknown" students; and 7) institutionalization/incarceration was given as a reason for leaving more frequently among tenth graders than among eleventh or twelfth graders. It was recommended that school leavers be studied on a regular basis; that potential leavers be identified; and that dropout prevention activities be instituted in areas with high dropout rates. (Author/MJL)