The Challenge We Face
Factor 2: Lost opportunities when education ends early
It is alarming to consider how many students fail to graduate from high school in Minnesota — let alone from college. The education levels that students reach will have a sizable impact on their futures; less education translates to lower future earnings.
Consider the 63,000 Minnesota ninth graders starting high school this fall. Based on current student performance, the projection is that:
- only 84 percent will graduate from high school
- only 55 percent will enter college, and
- only 27 percent will complete a two-year college degree within three years or a four- year degree within six years of high school graduation.
Source: Student Pipeline — Transition and Completion Rates from 9th Grade to College, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
Dropouts from Minnesota's high school class of 2007 could cost the state nearly $4 billion in lost wages and taxes over their lifetimes.
Source: Dropouts, Diplomas, and Dollars: U.S. High Schools and the Nation’s Economy Report (see PDF, Appendix 1), Alliance for Excellent Education
The typical expected earnings over the working lives of four-year college graduates add up to $800,000 more than the expected earnings of high school graduates.
Source: Education Pays 2007 (see report in sidebar, p. 10), The College Board
