Dropouts, Diplomas, and Dollars: U.S. High Schools and the Nation’s Economy 
Report (PDF)
August 27, 2008
The United States can no longer absorb the costs and losses associated with an education system that produces more than 1.2 million dropouts every year. This report examines the impact of this crisis on the dropouts themselves, as well as its effect on the economy, social fabric, and security of the nation, states, and local communities.
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The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools Issue Briefs (PDF)
June 17, 2008
If all of the U.S. high school dropouts from the Class of 2008 had instead earned diplomas along with their classmates, the U.S. economy could have benefited from an additional $319 billion in wages over these students’ lifetimes. So say conservative calculations made by the Alliance for Excellent Education that were published in The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools.
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What Keeps Good Teachers in the Classroom? Understanding and Reducing Teacher Turnover Issue Briefs (PDF)
February 26, 2008
Teachers are crucial to the success of our students. Yet many of them are leaving their schools and the profession every year, particularly in poorer, lower-performing schools. Several studies have attempted to identify why teachers leave and how to stem their turnover, but few have identified the quality of teachers who are departing. As in any profession, not all attrition is bad, but whether bad or good, it has financial ramifications. This brief explores the costs associated with teachers leaving the profession and their schools, the characteristics of those likely to leave, and what can be done to prevent unnecessary and costly turnover.
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Potential Economic Impacts of Improved Education
October 2007
The economic impact fact sheet helps policymakers and the public understand the extent of the economic costs to society of an educational system that serves so many students poorly and fails to graduate over 1.2 million students every year. It also provides an overview of the potential economic benefits that a state could enjoy were it to invest in a high school system that prepares all high school students for graduation and success after high school.
Access National, State, and District of Columbia information here...
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Hidden Benefits: The Impact of High School Graduation on Household Wealth Issue Briefs (PDF)
February 1, 2007
Hidden Benefits: The Impact of High School Graduation on Household Wealth demonstrates that if high school dropouts who currently head households in the U.S. had instead earned diplomas, the nation’s economy would benefit from an additional $74 billion in wealth accumulated by families. The wealth gap between high school dropouts and high school graduates is even more severe than the better known income gap.
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Healthier and Wealthier: Decreasing Health Care Costs by Increasing Educational Attainment Issue Briefs (PDF)
November 1, 2006
Healthier and Wealthier argues that higher educational attainment improves a student’s future income, occupational status, and social prestige, all of which contributes to improved individual health. The brief cites several reasons why, including the fact that Americans with higher educational attainment have more insurance coverage, individuals who lack health insurance receive less medical care and have poorer health outcomes, and lower education levels generally lead to occupations with greater health hazards.
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Demography as Destiny: How America Can Build a Better Future Issue Briefs (PDF)
October 17, 2006
The education gap that exists between white and minority students in the United States is a byproduct of both economic disparity and inequity. Lack of resources and fewer qualified teachers are just two factors that contribute to the problem. Currently, only about 70 percent of all American high school students graduate in the expected four years, but the figures are even bleaker for minority populations. As minority populations become larger as a percentage of the population, and if their low graduation rates remain the same, the national graduation rate will soon begin to fall as a growing number of minority students are left behind.
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Paying Double: Inadequate High Schools and Community College Remediation Issue Briefs (PDF)
August 1, 2006
Americans are beginning to recognize that many of the nation’s high schools are in crisis, as policymakers, business leaders, and celebrities call attention to the country’s low graduation rates. But the dropout problem, although severe, is only one indicator of the trouble plaguing the country’s secondary schools. Because too many students are not learning the basic skills needed to succeed in college or work while they are in high school, the nation loses more than $3.7 billion a year.
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Saving Futures, Saving Dollars: The Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and Earnings Issue Briefs (PDF)
August 1, 2006
Reforming the nation’s high schools could potentially increase the number of graduates and, as a result, significantly reduce the nation’s crime-related costs and add billions of dollars to the economy through the additional wages they would earn. Increasing the graduation rate and college matriculation of male students by only 5 percent could lead to combined savings and revenue of almost $8 billion each year.
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Investing in the Education of Older Students: A Summary of the Evidence (Report)
November 1, 2003
Out of Print
Presents the conclusions of noted economists who looked at this question for the Alliance, as well as a compilation of additional research from other sources. This report represents a summary of the two reports: Public and Private Benefits of Education for At-Risk Youth and the Alliance for Excellent Education Framework and Analytical Framework for Assessing the Potential Return on a Federal Investment in the Alliance for Excellent Education’s “Every Child a Graduate.”
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