They are all around us - kids without Dreams, kids without a future and kids who might become a burden on society. They are concentrated in economically deprived neighborhoods with high concentrations of minorities, especially African Americans, Latino/Latina, and recent immigrants.
They are the dropouts who don't have a good job and are sometimes in trouble with the law. High school drop outs cost society in higher crime rates, more need for services, and lower taxable incomes.
1. Iowa high school dropouts earn 54% less than graduates - $450,000 in lost personal income over 45 years (2000 data).
2. Iowa dropouts generate $565 less per year in state income taxes & $25,425 less over 45 years of working.
3. 39% of Iowa prison
population is dropouts. Iowa cost is $22,977 per inmate per year, $63 per
day (2002).
Iowa data: James R. Veale, Ph.D., "The Costs of Dropping Out of School in Iowa," (2002).