StateStats: Legislators Want to Friend You

High school graduation rates are on the rise, especially among Hispanics and African-Americans. An estimated 78.2 percent of all students who were freshmen in 2006 received diplomas in 2010, a 6.5 point increase over 2001’s rate of 71.7 percent, according to a recent report by America’s Promise Alliance and other organizations. The increase is the most significant in 40 years. Hispanics showed a gain of more than 10 percentage points (61 percent to 71.4 percent), and the African-American rate improved seven percentage points (59.2 percent to 66.1 percent.)

The costs of dropping out are high—to the student, the states and the nation. Dropouts earn less, have fewer job opportunities, and are far more likely to spend their lives periodically unemployed, on government assistance, or cycling in and out of prison. State legislatures play critical roles in holding schools and districts accountable, setting expectations and raising public awareness of the problem. More