11 Facts About Dropping Out

1. About 3 million students drop out of high school every year in the U.S.
2. More than 20 percent of dropouts are foreign born. Another 17 percent are Hispanic students.
3. A high school dropout is ineligible for 90 percent of jobs in America.
4. 75 percent of crimes are committed by high school dropouts.
5. 16- to 24-year-old boys made up nearly 60 percent of dropouts in 2010. That’s more than 1.8 million students.
6. Northeastern America in 2010 had the best graduation rate, accounting for only 13.6 percent of the total dropouts, compared to the south which housed more than 40 percent of the nation’s dropouts.
7. In 1970, the U.S. was ranked No.1 for high school and college graduation rates. By 2012, the U.S. dropped to No. 21 for high school and No. 15 for college grads.
8. Only 7 in every 10 of today’s freshman will graduate high school.
9. Roughly 80 percent of white and Asian students complete high school, compared to 55 percent African American and Hispanic students.
10. A high school graduate’s lifetime income is 50 to 100 percent more than a non-graduate’s.
11. Only 21 states in the U.S. require students to attend high school until they are 18 or earn a diploma.

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Sources: Statistic Brain, NCES, NY Times