For Harrison

[Martrae]

Study: H.S. Dropouts Face Steeper Costs
Sep 12, 5:03 AM (ET)
By BEN FELLER


WASHINGTON (AP) - 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 U.S. earn 65 percent of what people who have high school degrees make, according to a new report comparing industrialized nations. No other country had such a severe income gap.

Adults without a high school diploma typically make about 80 percent 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 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The report, released 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.

The new report says 44 percent 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.

Even U.S. adult education and job training do little to close gaps, because too few dropouts take part, said Barbara Ischinger, director of education for the OECD.

"Those with poor initial qualifications remain disadvantaged throughout their life, because they have fewer opportunities to catch up later on," she said.

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.

The importance of a high school degree on income varies across nations. It depends on the demands for skills, the supply of workers, minimum wage laws and the strength of unions.

The disparity is more pronounced in the United States, Ischinger said, partly because the U.S. labor market is more flexible. Other nations protect people with weak education qualifications through regulations or tax systems that favor the low skilled, she said.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, the United States more richly rewards those who go to college.

An adult with a university degree in the U.S. earns, on average, 72 percent more than someone with a high school degree. That's a much bigger difference than in most countries.

The study compares the United States to 29 other nations that belong to the economic organization, although not every country reported data on every indicator.

In perspective, the U.S. economy remains strong and competitive, the report says. The country has a high proportion of educated adults and greater gender equality than other nations.

But a troubling theme of the last couple years continues: The United States is losing ground internationally because other countries are making faster and bigger gains.

The high school and college graduation rates of recent U.S. students are now below the international average.

For example, among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. ranks 11th among nations in the share of its population that has finished high school. It used to be first.

The United States remains, by far, the most popular place for international students to study. But there, too, the U.S. is losing its market share of students studying abroad.

When it comes to money, the nation remains a big spender.

From elementary school through college, the United States spends an average of $12,023 per student. That's higher than in all countries in the comparison except for Switzerland.



How bout instead of doing your cross country trek you go to college?

[Harrison]

Let's all make fun of Harrison this week in this thread!

[Zanchief]

OH BURN FINNY!

[Jimmy Durante]

Only Denmark had a higher proportion of dropouts with low incomes.

Is that true, Juls?

[Martrae]

I wasn't making fun, I thought it might make you think a little.

[Spazz]

Dropping out of school is the worst decision i ever made.

[Agrajag]

Dropping out of school is the worst decision i ever made.

It shows in every post you make!

[Spazz]

Sometimes I do allright

[Snero]

it's not necessarily a cause and effect situation though. One simple explanation could be that most people that don't graduate aren't real bright and that's why they don't earn as much. Correlation without causation

[Agrajag]

Sometimes I do allright

I'll give you that. Not that what I say matters.

[Dylan]

I want to see what percentage of high school graduates make shitty money too.

I think it has more to do with the type of person they are rather than weither or not they graduated high school, someone could learn a trade and make alot of money etc without a diploma, on the other hand someone who graduated (cong them doing 15 minutes of homework every night, thats all it takes to get Ds) could continue doing drugs and not make any money at all.

For example, on one of my racing forums a guy who had a highschool diploma was spelling the abbreviation of "third" as "3ed" (as well as a million other spelling/grammar mistakes) and blamed public schools

[Spazz]

DUBBLE POST !!!!

[Dylan]

Where?

[Spazz]

musta just been me or something. I saw your post twice


AND no im not fucked up

[Dylan]

Suuuuuuure you did.

We all believe you.

[Spazz]

I swear it was there IM NOT CRAZY

[Darcler]

DUBBLE POST !!!!

Same amount of letters, why not spell it correctly?

[Spazz]

more fun to type it that way

[Harrison]

<---Baby Jesus cries for you.

[Jay]

Isn't Fin making good money now? Like more than most of his friends?

[Harrison]

Right now? No.

Currently looking for a different job as has been said before. I'm expecting a call back for $23-25/hr soon as a supervisor for a cold storage warehouse. (I have experience there *shrug*)

If not I can go back to where I was before making $18.50/hr. on and off until someone dies or retires and I take their place in the union. Then it's about $25/hr

Well enough for me until I decide upon what I really want to do in life. I have no complaints.

[Jay]

You looking to do something physical for work or do you want a cushy desk job?

[Harrison]

I don't honestly care. The only thing I care about in a job is the ability to get through the day without wanting to kill either myself or those around me.

I handle stress well, not tedium. I need to be busy the entire time or else I get bored and want to kill people. I work well with others as long as they don't sit around complaining the entire time, or slack.

I'd also prefer the workplace require drug testing bi-monthly or something close. I don't like working with burnouts coming into work stoned every day or back from lunch.

Edit: In closing, I am a picky motherfucker when it comes to how I am spending up to 50-60 hours of my life a week. Some people say "a job is a job, do it and get it over with". I see it as "I am spending 10 hours of my day possibly more, I might as well have it somewhat enjoyable or at worst bearable.

[Juls]

Only Denmark had a higher proportion of dropouts with low incomes.

Is that true, Juls?

ermm well i know many have never stopped studying... but dropouts i'm not so sure. Thier government gives them money when they are studying, jobless etc... so many don't worry much.. leachers!

Let me share a personal story of a good friend of mine. He was top student when he was in high school. Then CS came into his life and he started gaming so much he decided to quit scholling at 8th grade (14 years old).
Only at the age of 19, after getting brain fooked by yours truly, He realised that Counter Strike wasn't a future he could keep. Then retook his highschool exams, went to college.. now last night he just flew to Manchester for his Degree.. with a 40% scholarship. He still regrets not finishing his high school when he could. He could have had it much easier....

[Diekan]

What exactly is a high school "degree" anyway?