Progress To benefit fully from educational opportunities, individuals must complete various levels of education. Thus, it is just as important to monitor students progress through education as it is to monitor their access to and participation in various levels of education. Dropping out of school has both negative economic and social consequences. For example, high school dropouts experience lower rates of employment and earn less money than those who attain higher levels of education. Between 1972 and 1996, the dropout rate for whites and blacks decreased, while the dropout rate for Hispanics was not significantly different.
Higher education provides a wide range of individual, societal, and economic benefits.
However, access to higher education depends on more than just completing high school. A student s opportunity to attend a 4-year institution is not equally shared by all high school graduates. Once students enroll in postsecondary education, they have taken the first step toward obtaining a certificate, or an associate or bachelor s degree. While many students enroll in postsecondary education, a large proportion of them do not complete their degrees.