The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that about 14 percent of students who were sophomores in l980 dropped out of school by l982. This percentage represents over one-half million students. The Center for Human Resource Research, in a longitudinal study conducted from l979 through l982, points out that some dropouts reenroll and get a diploma, while others graduate by virtue of passing a GED examination. Of 25.5 million students who graduated by l982, 6.3 percent held a GED rather than a diploma. School dropouts tend to fall into the general pattern of academic underachievement and social and emotional problems.
Dropouts generally perform below grade level and have problems making social adjustments.
Many dropouts also are eligible for special education programs or services. After dropping out, adolescents show even higher rates of problem behaviors, isolation from their families, and unemployment. Statistics reinforce the argument that high school dropouts have more trouble getting jobs than do graduates. Labor Department figures show that unemployment rates for high school dropouts jumped from l9 percent at the end of l970 to 25.3 percent at the end of l980, while unemployment for high school graduates rose only from ll.5 percent to l3.9 percent. Adolescents who quit before finishing high school are less able to provide for themselves and much more likely to become burdens on society.