New education report shows that graduates from high school can expect annual earnings about 25 percent higher than high school dropouts. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the median income for a high school graduate who had not continued to secondary education was $8,943. For a high school drop out, that income fell to $6,778.

In addition, the NCES study found that there were demographic and regional differences in the populations most at risk for school failure. Some of those differences include (Lightfoot-Clark, 1996):

* Hispanics have the lowest high school completion rate, 61.8 percent, compared with 90.7 percent for whites and 83.3 percent for blacks;

* Dropout rates are highest in the West (14.7 percent) and South (13.5 percent) and lowest in the Midwest (7.7 percent) and Northeast (8.6 percent); and

* 4.4 Percent of students from high-income families drop out, compared to 11.3 percent from middle-income families and 21 percent from low-income families.

High school drop-outs are at greater risk of getting pregnant and becoming single parents. Study results showed that more than 60 percent of dropouts had at least one child. Conversely, only 9 percent of high school graduates had children on or before their high school graduation date.

Secretary of Education Richard Riley, concerned by the report, stated that when a student drops out it is a "fateful decision that often limits their opportunities for the rest of their lives" (Lightfoot-Clark, 1996).

More information about issues related to dropping out of school is available at:

Website for the NCES
http://www.ed.gov/

Source:

Lightfoot-Clark, Regina. (1996, August 9). NCES Charts Value of Staying in School. Education Daily Capitol Publications Inc., P.O. Box 1453, Alexandria, VA 22313-2053, p. 4.