As a result of a new game-changing study it released on January 12, the Alliance for Excellent Education said there was demonstrated evidence that lowering the high school dropout rate will have important positive implications for the economic vitality of the forty-five largest metropolitan areas in the United States.
The study, “The Economic Benefits from Halving the Dropout Rate: A Boom to Businesses in the Nation’s Largest Metropolitan Areas” measures on a city-by-city basis the growth in jobs, home ownership, levels of spending and investment, and car sales that will result from cutting the high school dropout rate in half.
According to the study 34% of high school students in the Seattle/Tacoma metropolitan area do not graduate on time with a regular diploma – 14,700 dropped out from the class of 2008.
If just half of the dropouts had graduated these 7,300 “new graduates’ would experience a combined $96 million annual increase in earnings. This would result in $68 million additional spending, supporting 700 new jobs which would increase our gross regional product by $128 million and deliver $9 million in additional tax revenues. After earning their diploma 71% would pursue some type of post secondary education.
According to Alliance President Bob Wise, “The report underscores the notion that the best economic stimulus package is a high school diploma. If the U.S. is to improve its competitiveness in the global economy, it must have an education system that meets the fast-growing demand for high-level skills.”
Download the Seattle/Tacoma metropolitan area results here.