Almost 40 percent of today's high school students fail to graduate on time. Of that percentage, most do not graduate or get a GED at any time in the future. In fact, students are less likely to gradu
ate from high school today than their parents were. In Alabama last year, nearly 25,000 students failed to graduate with their age group. This is unacceptable if we hope to move Alabama forward in this 21st century. The economic and social costs of this problem are staggering. For last year's non-graduating group in Alabama, the estimated lost lifetime earnings for that class alone is estimated at more than $6.5 billion. Another $245 million will be spent on their health care over their lifetimes compared to an equal-sized group of high school graduates, much of this at the expense of Alabama taxpayers. A college graduate will earn on average more than $1 million more over his lifetime than a high school dropout. In Alabama, the state would see a combination of crime-related savings and additional revenue of about $125 million each year if the male graduation rate increased by just 5 percent. Indeed, more than 80 percent of prisoners in our state prisoners are high school dropouts. While the dollars-and-cents arguments are compelling, imagine the emotional and personal costs of human beings not reaching their full potential because of a poor decision made as a teenager. In a challenging and competitive economy that relies increasingly on high-tech, highly skilled labor, we cannot lose generations of Alabama children who choose to leave school without a diploma.
For further details visit as: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090818/OPINION0101/908180302/Alabama-Voices--Reducing-dropout-rate-crucial
ate from high school today than their parents were. In Alabama last year, nearly 25,000 students failed to graduate with their age group. This is unacceptable if we hope to move Alabama forward in this 21st century. The economic and social costs of this problem are staggering. For last year's non-graduating group in Alabama, the estimated lost lifetime earnings for that class alone is estimated at more than $6.5 billion. Another $245 million will be spent on their health care over their lifetimes compared to an equal-sized group of high school graduates, much of this at the expense of Alabama taxpayers. A college graduate will earn on average more than $1 million more over his lifetime than a high school dropout. In Alabama, the state would see a combination of crime-related savings and additional revenue of about $125 million each year if the male graduation rate increased by just 5 percent. Indeed, more than 80 percent of prisoners in our state prisoners are high school dropouts. While the dollars-and-cents arguments are compelling, imagine the emotional and personal costs of human beings not reaching their full potential because of a poor decision made as a teenager. In a challenging and competitive economy that relies increasingly on high-tech, highly skilled labor, we cannot lose generations of Alabama children who choose to leave school without a diploma.For further details visit as: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090818/OPINION0101/908180302/Alabama-Voices--Reducing-dropout-rate-crucial
No comments:
Post a Comment