Bringemovies
← Browse Movies
Dropout Nation
TITLE DETAILS

Dropout Nation

2012-09-25 · 113 min · ★ 4.0

Documentary

What does it take to save a student? Every year, hundreds of thousands of teenagers in the United States quit high school without diplomas – an epidemic so out of control that nobody knows the exact number. What is clear is that massive dropout rates cripple individual career prospects and cloud the country’s future. At Houston’s Sharpstown High, once a notorious “dropout factory,” a high-stakes experiment is underway to rescue students from the edge. FRONTLINE spent a semester immersed in Sharpstown High to produce an unforgettable portrait of four students in crisis and the teachers, counselors, and principal waging a daily, personal struggle to get them to graduation. A troubling and inspiring journey through the maze of an inner city high school, Dropout Nation investigates the causes, challenges, and potential solutions of a national emergency.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Directors
Frank Koughan
Production companies
FRONTLINE, GBH, Left/Right
Countries
Unavailable
Status
Released

Top Cast

Cast unavailable.

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Streaming

PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel

Rental

Amazon Video

Purchase

Amazon Video

Free

Kanopy

View authorized watch options on TMDb

Recommendations

A Toxic Love Story
★ 6.5
A Toxic Love Story2026Documentary

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

The Last Repair Shop
★ 7.5
The Last Repair Shop2024Documentary

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster
★ 7.0
Drew: The Man Behind the Poster2013Documentary

A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
★ 6.7
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish2025Documentary

Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.

180° South
★ 7.3
180° South2010Documentary

The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

My Mom Jayne
★ 8.0
My Mom Jayne2025Documentary

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Come See Me in the Good Light
★ 7.0
Come See Me in the Good Light2025Documentary

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Crips and Bloods: Made in America
★ 6.6
Crips and Bloods: Made in America2009Documentary

With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.

Seduced and Abandoned
★ 6.2
Seduced and Abandoned2013Documentary

SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

American Teen
★ 6.4
American Teen2008Documentary

A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
★ 6.4
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library2017Documentary

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

28 Up
★ 7.5
28 Up1985Documentary

Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.

David Byrne's American Utopia
★ 7.5
David Byrne's American Utopia2020Documentary

A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.

Shawn Mendes: In Wonder
★ 8.1
Shawn Mendes: In Wonder2020Documentary

A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.

American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince
★ 6.7
American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince1978Documentary

Martin Scorsese spends an evening with larger-than-life raconteur Steven Prince—a former drug addict, road manager for Neil Diamond, and actor—as he recounts stories from his colorful life.

The Class of ‘92
★ 7.1
The Class of ‘922013Documentary

A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.

Boys State
★ 7.1
Boys State2020Documentary

This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.

Looking for Richard
★ 6.8
Looking for Richard1996Documentary

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

The Devil and Daniel Johnston
★ 7.7
The Devil and Daniel Johnston2006Documentary

This 2005 documentary film chronicles the life of Daniel Johnston, a manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist, from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his mental illness and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession.

More than a Game
★ 7.3
More than a Game2008Documentary

This documentary follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio and James' journey to fame.

Similar titles

Night School
★ 7.0
Night School2016Documentary

Indianapolis has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. Night School follows three adult students living in the city’s more impoverished neighborhoods as they attempt to earn their diplomas while juggling other difficult responsibilities and realities. Through their stories, the filmmakers explore many issues that low-income Americans deal with, including unjust minimum wage and working conditions, arbitrary legal hindrances, and race and gender inequality.

Odyssey of a Dropout
Not rated
Odyssey of a Dropout1966Documentary

Scott, a high school dropout, has no diploma, no job, no future and finally no girl. He is faced with the decision of continuing his education or continuing a life without hope or meaning.

Night School
★ 6.1
Night School2018

Teddy Walker is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. Forced to attend night school to get his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a group of misfit students, his former high school nemesis and a feisty teacher who doesn't think he's too bright.

Trust
★ 6.8
Trust1990

After being thrown away from home, pregnant high school dropout Maria meets Matthew, a highly educated and extremely moody electronics repairman. The two begin an unusual romance built on their sense of mutual admiration and trust.

Poster unavailable
Not rated
Misfit1965

Misfit (also known as The Misfit) is a lost 1965 American faith-based educational film directed by Bob O'Donnell. It stars Steven Jones, Warren Day, and Sandra Peabody. It follows a high school drop out (Jones), a drug addict (Peabody), and a "religious dropout" (Day) who rekindles his religion and helps the titular "misfit" find himself. Produced by Empire Studios, the film was distributed through churches, schools, penal institutions, and military bases before a worldwide release by Youth Films.

Suicide Room
★ 7.2
Suicide Room2011

Moody, dark, and handsome Dominik is terrorized at school, after video footage of his drunken kiss with classmate Aleksandr goes viral. Grappling with public humiliation, Dominik seeks solace in an avatar based "suicide room," where the pink-haired rebel Sylwia consoles him.

Boys Go to Jupiter
★ 7.0
Boys Go to Jupiter2025

A teenager in suburban Florida desperately hustles to make $5,000 in this dreamy and surreal animated coming-of-age story.

Never Goin' Back
★ 6.1
Never Goin' Back2018

Angela and Jessie are best friends intent on taking a wild beach trip, but when their roommate loses all of their money in a drug scam, the girls -- blissfully stoned -- go to increasingly daring and absurd lengths to get it back.

Kid Cannabis
★ 6.1
Kid Cannabis2014

An eighteen year old high school drop out and his twenty-seven year old friend start trafficking marijuana across the border of Canada in order to make money and their lives are changed forever.

Easy Life
★ 5.5
Easy Life1944

In this entry in the MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series young Frank Davis, dropping out of school and joining a small-time hoodlum gang, finds out that leading a life of crime is not all he thought it would be.

The Show Must Go On
★ 3.0
The Show Must Go On2019Documentary

The Show Must Go On is a personal journey behind the scenes that confronts the epidemic of mental health issues in the Australian entertainment industry.

Chefs des Chefs : Dans les coulisses du Palais de Monaco
Not rated
Chefs des Chefs : Dans les coulisses du Palais de Monaco2012Documentary

Politics divides people, but food brings them together. Working for the royal couple, H.S.H. Prince Albert II and H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco, chef Christian Garcia prepares special meals for the Grimaldi family and organizes large receptions at the Palace. We follow the daily lives of the Chamberlain, the valets, the laundresses, the gardeners, the silversmiths, and all the staff of the Palace of Monaco, who preserve centuries-old traditions in the art of hospitality.

Porgy and Bess in Wien
Not rated
Porgy and Bess in Wien1953Documentary

Featuring the opera star Leontyne Price, the concert baritone William Warfield, and the irrepressible jazz bandleader Cab Calloway, this virtually unknown short film documents the first stop on what would become a four-year US State Department–sponsored tour of the Everyman Opera Company's production of the Gershwin-Heyward opera Porgy and Bess.

We Get to Win This Time
★ 6.0
We Get to Win This Time2002Documentary

Documentary about the making of "Rambo : First Blood Part II," and how Rambo became a household name. Featuring Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, director George P. Cosmatos, writer David Morrell, producers Mario Kassar and Andrew Vanja. Produced for the "Rambo" Special Edition DVD box set.

By Any Means Necessary: The Making of "Jason X"
★ 7.0
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of "Jason X"2002Documentary

Produced for the "Jason X" Special Edition DVD.

Mackin’ Ain’t Easy
★ 8.0
Mackin’ Ain’t Easy2002Documentary

Documentary celebrating the making of this 70’s cult favorite featuring interviews with Max Julien, director Michael Campus, producer Harvey Bernhard, filmmakers the Hughes Brothers, professor Todd Boyd, and writer Jessie Rhines, actors Anizette Chase, Dick Anthony Williams and Don Gordon. Produced for "The Mack" Special Edition DVD.

Poster unavailable
Not rated
Mysterium Gotik - Als die Kathedralen in den Himmel wuchsen2021Documentary

Satan’s Top Forty
Not rated
Satan’s Top Forty2001Documentary

Documentary on Heavy Metal music featuring Adam Sandler, Ozzy Osbourne, Gene Simmons and Ronnie Dio. Produced for the "Little Nicky" Special Edition DVD.

Let the Games Begin
★ 9.0
Let the Games Begin2001Documentary

Produced for the "Dungeons & Dragons" Special Edition DVD.

The Making of "Dungeons and Dragons"
Not rated
The Making of "Dungeons and Dragons"2001Documentary

Produced for the "Dungeons and Dragons" Special Edition DVD. This video gives fantasy film and game fans a behind-the- scenes look at the making of the hit movie based on the classic Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. Includes interviews with star Jeremy Irons, as well as other members of the cast and crew, who share their experiences with bringing the game to the silver screen.

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.