- The
Connection
- High
school students who use alcohol or other substances frequently are up
to five times more likely than other students to drop out of school.¹
Students who use marijuana before the age of 15 are three times more likely than other students to drop out of school.¹
The
Costs
Lifetime costs of dropping out of high school include lost wages and
productivity, lost fringe benefits, and other non-market losses. Lifetime
cost of dropping out of high school is $291,000–$466,000. For just
the 1,584 Dallas County students who dropped out of school in 2000–2001,
the total lifetime costs will be between $890 million and $1.4 billion.
In
the News
Dallas Morning News – August 2003
Federal officials have estimated the size of Texas’ dropout problem
for the first time and say it’s almost quadruple what the state
says. Five percent of Texas high school students dropped out in the
1999 – 2000 school year, according to the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES). The Texas Education Agency (TEA) says the dropout
rate that year was only 1.3 %. The two groups base their results on
the same data, but they calculate the rates differently. The NCES looks
at high school students only, but the TEA includes seventh and eight
graders. Because only a small number of those younger students drop
out, their inclusion makes the dropout rate look smaller. Also, if students
say they are going to pursue a GED, the TEA does not count them in their
dropout rate. NCES counts them as dropouts unless they earn a GED within
a year of quitting school.
-
Make A Difference
-
Volunteer to be a tutor at your child’s school or at a school of your choice.
Advocate for in school or after-school drug and violence prevention programs.
Resources
Regional
Organizations
Communities
in Schools
(214) 827-0955
DISD Dropout Intervention / Recovery (972) 925-4878
I Have a Dream Foundation (214) 823-3490
State & National Organizations
National
Center for
Education Statistics
Texas
Education Agency
Dropout
Prevention
Clearinghouse
¹ Malignant Neglect: Substance Abuse & America’s Schools – The National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Sept. 2001
