Economic Impact
Two-thirds of new jobs require more than a high school diploma, either in the form of higher education or advanced training, making instruction at the high school level a crucial stepping stone to economic security – both on a personal level and for our nation.
Yet, America’s drop out rates and college readiness statistics reveal a public education system that has not risen to the challenge.
America’s 1.2 million dropouts create an unavoidable shortage of workers who are prepared to succeed in today’s economy. As a result our nation’s once secure position as the world’s economic leader becomes more tenuous by the day.
But in terms of the overall cost to our communities, our state and our nation, that’s just the beginning.
In the nation’s fifty largest cities and surrounding metropolitan areas an estimated 600,000 students dropped out of high school in 2008. Research by the Alliance for Excellent Education estimated the economic impact of reducing that number by half.
• The 300,000 “new graduates” would account for $4.1 billion in increased earnings each year;
• These earnings would allow this group to spend and invest close to $4 billion more than if they remained dropouts;
• By the midpoint in their careers these new graduates would likely purchase homes totaling a value of as much as $10.4 billion;
• This increased spending and investment would likely support an additional 30,000 jobs in our nation’s 50 largest cities and surrounding areas;
• As a result of increased wages and higher levels of spending, state and local tax revenue within these regions would likely grow by more than $536 million a year.
In Denver, halving the dropout rate would result in similarly significant gains.
Yet, America’s drop out rates and college readiness statistics reveal a public education system that has not risen to the challenge.
America’s 1.2 million dropouts create an unavoidable shortage of workers who are prepared to succeed in today’s economy. As a result our nation’s once secure position as the world’s economic leader becomes more tenuous by the day.
But in terms of the overall cost to our communities, our state and our nation, that’s just the beginning.
In the nation’s fifty largest cities and surrounding metropolitan areas an estimated 600,000 students dropped out of high school in 2008. Research by the Alliance for Excellent Education estimated the economic impact of reducing that number by half.
• The 300,000 “new graduates” would account for $4.1 billion in increased earnings each year;
• These earnings would allow this group to spend and invest close to $4 billion more than if they remained dropouts;
• By the midpoint in their careers these new graduates would likely purchase homes totaling a value of as much as $10.4 billion;
• This increased spending and investment would likely support an additional 30,000 jobs in our nation’s 50 largest cities and surrounding areas;
• As a result of increased wages and higher levels of spending, state and local tax revenue within these regions would likely grow by more than $536 million a year.
In Denver, halving the dropout rate would result in similarly significant gains.
