New Report on Philadelphia Dropouts

Posted by on June 22, 2009

Research shows HS diploma not enough for success

Recent graduates from Philadelphia’s public high schools had higher employment rates and higher annual earnings than their classmates who dropped out, but many of them still did not have incomes above the federal poverty line, according to a new study from the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University.

The report suggests that although it is essential to increase high school graduation rates, “without additional postsecondary education, the effect of a high school diploma on lives and livelihoods may be rather limited.”

Untapped Potential: Early Labor Market Outcomes of Dropouts and Graduates from Philadelphia’s Public Schools looks at employment and earnings in Pennsylvania’s formal economy for students in Philadelphia’s Classes of 2000-2005. The full report can be downloaded here.

http://www.every1graduates.org/PDFs/Untapped_Potential.pdf

The study shows that only 35 percent of the dropouts from the classes of 2000 to 2005 had any earnings in Pennsylvania in 2006, compared to almost half of the graduates.

“For those dropouts who were employed, work was typically episodic and annual incomes low: The average employed dropout worked just 25 weeks during the year, earning just more than $9,000,” according to the study. Those with diplomas averaged approximately $12,000 in annual income during 2006.

Both dropouts and graduates with no postsecondary education were most likely to be employed in restaurants, security and janitorial services, and institutions that provide care for the elderly, ill and disabled.

The report was prepared for Project U-Turn, a citywide campaign to resolve Philadelphia’s high school dropout crisis.

For more information on the report, email Christopher Boccanfuso at cboccanfuso@csos.jhu.edu or call  410-516-0157.