This study of a rural high school in southeast Georgia was intended to address the issues of low graduation rates and not making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The study looked at intrinsic and extrinsic factors seen as obstacles for four subgroups of students, those who had already dropped out and those who were at-risk of doing so. These subgroups included nonminority and minority students, male and female. The research methods employed included a mixed-methods study designed to separately gather and analyze data from the archival drop-out group and the at-risk focus group at Coffee High School, categorize and analyze the quantitative data using chi squares, then merge qualitative data using triangulation, to see if the at-risk sample imitated the dropout sample’s apparent factors in leaving school. The at-risk focus group was interviewed in two sessions to give voice to their feelings and factors, enhancing the findings of the quantitative portions of the study. Major findings of this study have been students mostly adhered to similar studies in indicating intrinsic and extrinsic factors which caused failure in school. In terms of ethnicity and student motivation, there was a marginal statistical significance between the two for leaving school prior to graduation. In regard to gender and ethnicity, results were more clearly significant between the two for leaving school prior to graduation. Finally, among at-risk students, although most spoke more of intrinsic factors that caused them problems at school, all subgroups: nonminority, minority, male and female, determined that it would be the extrinsic factors that would ultimately make them want to leave school before graduation.