Introduction
When managing a martial arts school, focusing on improving sales procedures and retention rates is crucial. Retention, or the number of students who continue training at your school, is a vital metric that can significantly influence your school’s success. Understanding how to measure and interpret these numbers can help you make informed decisions to keep your school thriving.

The Formula for Measuring Retention

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Define Active Students
    Active students are those who have attended classes in the past two weeks. This ensures you’re counting only those engaged in the program.

  2. Total Active Students at Month-End
    Start by noting the total number of active students at the end of the previous month. For example, let's say you had 100 active students.

  3. Add New Enrollments
    Include the new students enrolled during the current month. If you enrolled 10 new students, you now have 110 students, which represents 100% retention and a 0% dropout rate at the start of the month.

  4. Calculate Current Active Students
    At the end of the month, count the number of active students again. If you have 105 active students, you calculate retention as follows:

    • Retention Rate: 105110×100=95%
    • Dropout Rate: 100%−95%=5%

    With a 5% dropout rate, you project to finish the year with 133 students, assuming consistent retention.

Why Measure Monthly? Monthly measurements help you stay on top of retention rates and make timely adjustments. Over longer periods, retention rates tend to drop, and dropout rates increase. Monthly monitoring helps maintain a manageable dropout rate under 5%.