More than one in four Hispanic youth drop out, and nearly half leave by the eighth grade. Hispanics are twice as likely as African Americans to drop out. White and Asian American students are least likely to drop out. The gap between dropouts and more educated people is widening as opportunities increase for higher skilled workers all but disappear for the less skilled. In the last 20 years the earnings level of dropouts doubled, while it nearly tripled for college graduates.
Dropouts make up nearly half the heads of households on welfare.
Dropouts make up nearly half the prison population. In the past it was thought that returning to school to get a GED certificate didn't have much effect on a person's job opportunities. Twice as many women GED holders were in the labor force as women dropouts. In fact, nearly two out of three female GED holders were in the labor force. They said that both their personal and schools lives were very hard.