Statistics present a clear picture of the difference in lifestyles of those who graduate from college as compared to those who do not. In all areas of living, life is affected by one’s educational level.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, over the course of a lifetime the college graduate will earn an average of 2.5 million dollars more than someone who has dropped out of high school. CollegeBoard (the company that administers the SAT) states that those with professional degrees will, on average, pay in taxes per year what the high school drop out will make. Read that sentence again; it’s pretty horrifying, especially when one considers the dropout rate in the United States. One in four. In Detroit, it’s 3 out of 4.
Statically, the college graduate will volunteer, donate blood and vote more often. The only area in which one sees a reverse in percentages is in the area of unemployment—the unemployment rate for high school dropouts is 13.9% as compared to 2.8% of those with at least four years of college.
In 2005 the prestigious ACT noted: “… the number of post secondary school graduates will not be sufficient to fill the more than 14 million new jobs that will be added to the labor market by 2008. And, leaving high school without being prepared … will cost our nation over $16 billion each year in remediation, lost productivity, and increased demands on criminal justice and welfare systems.”
It is important for us, as parents and educators, as productive citizens within our societies to remind our children of the importance of a college education – and that the successful completion of high school is the best way to insure all future success and happiness.
I wonder how many children are being left behind.
Tags: NCLB
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