More than a million students who enter ninth grade each year won't reach their high-school graduation day, according to a 2009 Alliance for Excellent Education report. Dropping out of secondary school continues to be a major problem in the United States -- with far-reaching educational, socioeconomic and even criminal consequences. Multiple factors -- some rooted in childhood -- lead teens across the nation to drop out of schools.
Statistics
Approximately 7,000 high-school students drop out every day in the United States, a 2009 report from the Alliance for Excellent Education reveals. More than half of these students are minorities. In fact, the gap between Caucasian and minority graduation rates is as large as 50 percentage points in some cases. Teen dropouts are located throughout the country; however, 80 percent of schools with the highest number of teen dropouts are located in just 15 states. About 2,000 schools produce more than 50 percent of high-school dropouts.
Academic Factors
Academic problems starting well before the students drop out contribute to these statistics. The 2009 Alliance for Excellent Education report states that academic failure in ninth grade is more significant than demographic factors. Survey findings published in a March 2006 report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation suggest that academic success plays a role in whether some teens choose to drop out; in fact, 45 percent of those surveyed cite poor preparation for high school as a factor. A majority of these dropouts -- 69 percent -- reported that they were not motivated to work hard in school.
Social and Economic Factors
Teen pregnancy is a major risk factor for dropping out. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of teen mothers quit school, according to the KidsHealth website. About a third of surveyed dropouts discussed in the Gates Foundation report stated that the need for money and employment spurred them to leave high school. An "International Journal of Behavioral Development" study, published online in September 2010, found strong evidence for the influence of socioeconomic factors on young people as well. The findings suggest that low socioeconomic status is associated with both dropping out of school and becoming young parents.
Consequences
The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network reports that high-school dropouts are four times more likely to be unemployed than those who completed at least four years of college. They earn about $260,000 less than high-school graduates during their lifetime, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education. Teens who quit school and become young parents are more likely to raise their own children in a low socioeconomic status, further perpetuating the cycle. These issues do not affect only dropouts and their families. Increasing high-school graduation rates among males could save billions of dollars in crime-related costs; 82 percent of prison inmates are dropouts. Preventing teens from quitting high school would also save considerable amounts of money spent on Medicaid and other public-assistance programs.
References
- Alliance for Excellent Education; High School Dropouts in America; February 2009
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts; John M. Bridgeland, et al.; March 2006
- KidsHealth; When Your Teen Is Having a Baby; September 2008
- Concordia University; Disadvantaged Youth More Likely to Be High School Dropouts, Young Parents and Poor Adults; November 2010
- National Dropout Prevention Center/Network: Top 5 Reasons to Stay in School
