Blue icon of three people, one in graduation cap, beside text: National Dropout Prevention Center.

Administrators Toolkit

Public High School Graduation Rates and High School Completion statistics: National Center for Education Statistics

McFarland, J., Cui, J., Rathbun, A., and Holmes, J. (2018). Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2018 (NCES 2019-117). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 12/2018 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.

Educational Attainment, Income, and the Cost of Dropping Out

While advocates for increasing graduation rates tend to focus on the moral argument that all children deserve a quality education, they could just as easily look at compelling bottom lines in terms of costs to the individuals and society.

Bar chart showing 48.5% of adults have a high school diploma, 38.5% a higher degree, and 13% no diploma.

Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Older

Educational Attainment of the United States Population

Bar chart showing education levels in the US; most adults have a high school diploma or some college education.
Bar chart showing median earnings by education level; higher education links to higher earnings in the United States.

Median Earnings for Full-Time Workers 25 Years and Over by Educational Attainment

Earnings by Educational Attainment by Sex Among the Population 25 Years and Over

Data from Statistical Atlas. Go to U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey (2018) for updates.

We are frequently asked for statistics or facts about K-12 dropouts. Below are some links to useful information:

Link to the statistics in a particular state through the State Education Agency’s website. Here is a list of connections to each state.

Bar chart showing median earnings by education and gender; men earn more at each education level, especially with degrees.

Who’s At Risk?

At any given time in a student’s life he/she can become “at-risk.” One must look at a variety of situations and life factors to determine at-riskness. Not all students who are identified as being at risk dropout and so it is important to realize that this is a multidimensional concept that has no set rules.

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