The study investigated the causal factors of drop-out and repetition among girls in secondary schools in Kisumu County. The study targeted 1448 girls who enrolled in Form one in the year 2004 and completed Form four in 2007. Out of the 49 Schools that admitted and registered girls for KCSE therefore 15 mixed schools and pure girls’ schools in Kisumu County were sampled. The study used the Ex-Post Facto research strategy. Stratified sampling method was used to select schools and participants respectively. The KCSE results records, class registers and admission records were used to supplement the data was collected by use of questionnaires. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that most girls dropped out of school and repeated a class in Form two and three, underscoring the significance of class level in school drop-out and repetition. The study established that performance of girls who rejoined school after staying out of school for sometime ranged between average and very poor. Socio-economic factors such as culture, family type, student attitude and peer influence had major influences on drop-out and class repetition among girls in secondary schools of Kisumu County, western Kenya. The study recommends concerted effort by all stakeholders in education to retain the girl-child in school, intensify guidance and counselling especially for Forms 2 and 3, creating of awareness among parents, sponsorship, use of women role models and legislation to motivate and keep more girls in school and improve their academic performance.
