copyright 2009, The Washington Post WASHINGTON -- About 8 percent of Virginia students in the Class of 2009 dropped out during high school, their decision to quit prompted by having been frequently absent, attending multiple schools or repeating a grade, according to recent data from the state Department of Education. According to the annual graduation report released Oct. 20, the 2009 dropout rate fell slightly compared with the 2008 class, in which almost 9 percent of the students did not complete high school. Many dropouts showed early warning signs, said Julie Grimes, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Education. 'There are some things that you can look at that might identify students for potential' of dropping out, she said. The report found that among the students who dropped out, 45.2 percent had repeated at least one grade in high school, 64.6 percent had attendance rates of less than 80 percent in their final year and 32.2 percent had attended two or more high schools. The 2009 report was the second year the education department relied on data derived from a more accurate system of monitoring dropout rates, in which students are assigned a number that tracks their progress throughout their years in high school. 'If, say, a student transfers from one school to another Virginia school, their number stays with them,' Grimes said. Education advocates said they hope school systems use the data to improve their graduation rates. Bob Wise, a former West Virginia governor and president of the Washington-based Alliance for Excellent Education, said the more accurate data will allow educators to intervene when a student begins to show signs of dropping out. 'If your data is showing you that a child is beginning to read at a lower level than their grade, then you can immediately intervene with a literacy program,' he said. The report also had updated numbers for the Class of 2008, in which 1,210 students returned for a fifth year of high school and earned diplomas. For the 2009 report, the state tracked 98,043 students who were first-time ninth-graders during the 2005-06 school year. About 83.2 percent received a diploma, about 1 percent higher than for the Class of 2008. 'A one-point increase in the graduation rate represents nearly 1,000 additional young men and women who earned diplomas and are ready for postsecondary education or entry-level employment,' said Patricia Wright, the state superintendent of public instruction. 