Students, Part Six
Every school day, almost 7,000 students become dropouts.
Annually, that adds up to about 1.2 million students who will not graduate from high school with their peers as scheduled.
Lacking a high school diploma, these individuals will be far more likely to spend their lives sporadically unemployed, on government assistance, or cycling in and out of the prison system.
Most high school dropouts see the result of their decision to leave school most clearly in the slimness of their wallets. The average annual income for a high school dropout in 2005 was
$17,299, compared to $26,933 for a high school graduate — a difference of $9,634.
Each dropout, over his or her lifetime, costs the nation approximately $260,000.
Unless high schools are able to graduate their students at higher rates, more than 12 million students will drop out during the course of the next decade. The result will be a loss to the nation's economy of $3 trillion.
Everyone benefits from improved graduation rates.
The graduates themselves, on average, will earn higher wages and enjoy more comfortable and secure lifestyles. At the same time, the nation benefits from their increased purchasing power, higher tax contributions, and increased workplace productivity.
Nationwide:
• Only about 58% of Hispanic students and 53% of black students will graduate on time with a regular diploma, compared to 80% of Asian students and 76% of white students.
• Among all races and ethnicities, females graduate at a higher rate than their male peers — 74% versus 66%.
• Graduation rates are significantly lower in districts with higher percentages of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches (a measure of poverty).
• High school students living in low-income families drop out of school at six times the rate of their peers from high-income families.
• The lowest-achieving 25% of students are 20 times more likely to drop out of high school than students in the highest achievement quartile.
The nation’s economy and competitive standing also suffers when there are high dropout rates.
Among developed countries, the United States ranks 18th in high school graduation rates
and 15th in college graduation rates.
Dropouts represent a tremendous waste of human potential and productivity and reduce the nation’s ability to compete in an increasingly global economy.
High school graduates, on the other hand, provide both economic and social benefits to society.
In addition to earning higher wages which improve local, state, and national economic conditions, high school graduates live longer, are less likely to be teen parents, and are more likely to raise healthier, better-educated children. In fact, children of parents who graduate from high school are themselves far more likely to graduate from high school than are children of parents without a high school degree. High school graduates are also less likely to commit crimes , rely on government healthcare, or use other public services such as food stamps.
Graduation Rates on the Rebound
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