Our country is in serious trouble.
Already, having a high school diploma only equips one for low-wage service-sector jobs in America’s post-industrial post-manufacturing economy. Not to be a high school graduate is downright economically suicidal. I’m not sure even fast food joints will hire a high school dropout for their minimum-wage hamburger flipper jobs.
Boostup.org has an interactive map of the dropout rates of America’s 50 states.
Nationwide, America’s high school dropout rate is a staggering 28%. That means more than 1 out of every 4 students never graduate from high school. Here are the dropout rates by race/ethnicity:
- American Indian: 46% (nearly 1 of every 2!)
- Black: 43%
- Hispanic: 42%
- White: 22%
- Asian: 17%
Here are the dropout rates (from highest to lowest) for the 51 states and district:
- Nevada 43%
- Mississippi 38%
- District of Columbia 37%
- New Mexico 35%
- South Carolina 34%
- Georgia 32%
- Louisiana 32%
- Florida 31%
- Alabama 30%
- California 29%
- Alaska 27%
- Arizona 27%
- North Carolina 27%
- Arkansas 26%
- Delaware 26%
- New York 26%
- Washington 26%
- Connecticut 24%
- Hawaii 24%
- Indiana 24%
- Michigan 24%
- Rhode Island 24%
- Texas 24%
- Wyoming 24%
- Oregon 23%
- West Virginia 23%
- Colorado 22%
- Illinois 22%
- Kentucky 22%
- Oklahoma 22%
- Tennessee 22%
- Virginia 21%
- Maine 20%
- Ohio 20%
- Utah 20%
- Idaho 19%
- Kansas 19%
- Maryland 19%
- Pennsylvania 19%
- South Dakota 19%
- Montana 18%
- Nebraska 17%
- Massachusetts 16%
- Missouri 16%
- New Hampshire 15%
- Iowa 14%
- New Jersey 14%
- Minnesota 12%
- North Dakota 12%
- Vermont 10%
- Wisconsin 9%
I am a naturalized U.S. citizen who grew up poor in another place where there was no free K-12 public school education. How my hardworking struggling parents would have appreciated free education for their four children! Public schools are free in America, and yet nearly one of every four students in the U.S. never finish high school. Whose fault is that?
~Eowyn
