High school dropouts earn far less money: New report

PARIS – Dropping out of high school has its costs around the globe, but nowhere steeper than in the United States.

Adults who don’t finish high school in the US earn 65 per cent of what people who have high school degrees make, according to a new report comparing industrialised nations. No other country had such a severe income gap.Adults without a high school diploma typically make about 80 per cent of the salaries earned by high school graduates in nations across Asia, Europe and elsewhere.Countries such as Finland, Belgium, Germany and Sweden have the smallest gaps in earnings between dropouts and graduates.The figures come from ‘Education at a Glance’, an annual study by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.The report, released on Tuesday, aims to help leaders see how their nations stack up.The findings underscore the cost of a persistent dropout problem in the United States.It is rising as a national concern as politicians see the risks for the economy and for millions of kids.Adults in their 20s and 30s have slightly lower high school completion rates than older adults.The new report says 44 per cent of adults without high school degrees in the United States have low incomes – that is, they make half of the country’s median income or less.Only Denmark had a higher proportion of dropouts with low incomes.Also, the United States is below the international average when it comes to its employment rate among adults age 25 to 64 who have no high school degree.”Those with poor initial qualifications remain disadvantaged throughout their life, because they have fewer opportunities to catch up later on,” said Barbara Ischinger, director of education for the OECD.About one-third of students in the United States don’t finish high school on time – or at all.Estimates on that dropout rate vary, though, and state data are often shaky.Nampa-APNo other country had such a severe income gap.Adults without a high school diploma typically make about 80 per cent of the salaries earned by high school graduates in nations across Asia, Europe and elsewhere.Countries such as Finland, Belgium, Germany and Sweden have the smallest gaps in earnings between dropouts and graduates.The figures come from ‘Education at a Glance’, an annual study by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.The report, released on Tuesday, aims to help leaders see how their nations stack up.The findings underscore the cost of a persistent dropout problem in the United States.It is rising as a national concern as politicians see the risks for the economy and for millions of kids.Adults in their 20s and 30s have slightly lower high school completion rates than older adults.The new report says 44 per cent of adults without high school degrees in the United States have low incomes – that is, they make half of the country’s median income or less.Only Denmark had a higher proportion of dropouts with low incomes.Also, the United States is below the international average when it comes to its employment rate among adults age 25 to 64 who have no high school degree.”Those with poor initial qualifications remain disadvantaged throughout their life, because they have fewer opportunities to catch up later on,” said Barbara Ischinger, director of education for the OECD.About one-third of students in the United States don’t finish high school on time – or at all.Estimates on that dropout rate vary, though, and state data are often shaky.Nampa-AP