Understanding and Addressing the Issue of the High School Dropout Age

Introduction

Most students who drop out of high school have limited job choices and tenuous economic futures. Recent studies suggest that even receiving a General Educational Development (GED) certificate does not provide workers in today's job market with financial rewards equal to those with a regular high school diploma (Viadero, 2001). In fact, the employment market does not value job applicants with a GED or a high school equivalency certificate much more than applicants who have dropped out (Bonsteel, 2001). Debra Viadero reports that without a high school diploma, young adults' prospects in the labor market are restricted. Between 1979 and 1996, the real earnings of a 25- to 34-year-old male dropout fell by 28 percent while earnings for female dropouts declined 7 percent (Viadero, 2001). For these as well as other reasons, lowering the dropout rate has long been a goal of educators and legislators (U.S. GAO, 2002).

In February 2003, the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) conducted a policy analysis on high school dropout age, providing an overview of the opportunities and challenges that might arise from increasing the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18. This paper begins with background information on the issue of high school dropouts, followed by a discussion of definitions of dropout and how rates of high school dropouts are calculated in most states. Also included are examples of how some states have successfully raised the compulsory attendance age. The paper concludes with research-based solutions for preventing increasing rates of high school dropouts.