Junior Achievement USA: A Solution to the Dropout Crisis
The crisis in America's educational system has a devastating impact on the future health of the economy. Nearly every year, only 70 percent of students complete high school on time and earn a diploma. In October 2007, approximately 3.3 million noninstitutionalized, 16- through 24-year-olds, were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential.1
The dropout crisis directly affects the U.S. economy. Over the course of a student's lifetime, a high school dropout earns, on average, about $260,000 less than a high school graduate2 and contributes about $60,000 less in taxes.3 Conservative estimates show that the nation's economy would have benefited over time from nearly $335 billion in additional income if the students who dropped out of the Class of 2009 had graduated.4 Overall, young people who drop out are twice as likely as graduates to be unemployed; three times as likely to live in poverty; eight times more likely to wind up in prison; and twice as likely to become the parent of a child who drops out of school.5 The economic benefits of increasing the graduation rate among students are evident. For example, if the male graduation rate were increased by only five percent, the nation would see an annual savings of $4.9 billion in crime-related costs.6 Furthermore, America would save more than $17 billion in Medicaid and expenditures for health care for the uninsured by graduating all students.7
To alleviate the dropout crisis, policymakers, educators, community leaders and nonprofit organizations must work together to ensure that students have access to highquality educational experiences and resources that enable them to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in post-secondary educational institutions and the future workforce. In addition to quality teachers and tested pedagogy, students must see the direct relevance of what they are learning in the classroom to their future; understand the value of having a high school diploma at a minimum; and develop the internal drive and belief that they can be successful.
Junior Achievement (JA): A Solution Provider
- JA is relevant as it bridges the gap of what students are learning in school and how it can be applied in the real world.
- According to the landmark study on high school dropouts, The Silent Epidemic, a primary reason that students drop out of school is they don't see the relevance of what they were learning in the classroom to the real world or their future.8
According to recent nationwide evaluations of JA:
- More than nine out of 10 teachers and volunteers (91%) agree or strongly agree that Junior Achievement programs connect what is learned in the classroom to the outside world.9
- Regarding the effects of their experience with Junior Achievement, more than eight out of 10 (84%) of JA alumni indicate that JA enabled them to connect what they learned in the classroom to real life.10
"I just think that it is really cool to learn things at school and then be able to apply them."– JA Company Program student
- JA reinforces the value of an education.
- Seventy-five percent of teachers and volunteers agree or strongly agree that Junior Achievement programs help students realize the importance of staying in school.11
- In recent high school program evaluations, an average of eight out of 10 students report that Junior Achievement programs helped reinforce the importance of staying in school.12
- Sixty-seven percent of JA alumni report that JA made them realize the importance of staying in school.13
"Through my participation in JA, I discovered that if you want to be a successful business woman or man you have to stay focused and stay in school so you can become what you want to become." – JA Job Shadow student
- JA instills self-confidence.
- Self-efficacy represents an individual's confidence in her or his ability to accomplish a particular task. Research has shown that young people with a higher generalized sense of self-efficacy set more challenging goals for themselves, try harder, persevere in difficult times, bounce back more quickly after failures, and ultimately are more successful.
According to recent nationwide evaluations of JA:
- Almost eight out of 10 (76%) teachers and volunteers agree or strongly agree that JA better prepares students for the world of work.14
- In recent high school program evaluations, more than eight out of 10 students report that the Junior Achievement program better prepared them for the future.15
- In longitudinal studies, JA students were significantly more likely than their peers to believe that they would graduate from high school, pursue post-secondary education, and graduate from college.16
"Junior Achievement positively affected my future by giving me the confidence to know that I can achieve my dreams." – JA Alum
Junior Achievement: Innovative Solutions
In addition to providing students with curriculum that is relevant and reinforces the value of an education, Junior Achievement is also piloting and expanding in-depth initiatives that directly aim at reducing the dropout rate of students who attend school districts that have been labeled "dropout factories." In these "dropout factories," located in 50 cities and 15 of which are southern/southwestern states, only 60 percent of freshman graduate from high school.17 To learn more about Junior Achievement programs, please visit www.myJA.org/programs/, and to learn more about how to get volunteer, please visit www.myJA.org/volunteers/.
1 National Center for Education Statistics
2 http://www.tc.columbia.edu/i/a/3082_SocialCostsofInadequateEducation.pdf
3 Rouse, C. E. (2005). "Labor market consequences of an inadequate education." Paper prepared for the symposium on the Social Costs of Inadequate Education, Teachers College Columbia University, October 2005.
4 http://www.all4ed.org/files/HighCost.pdf
5 America's Promise Alliance
6 Alliance for Excellent Education. (2006b). Saving futures, saving dollars: The impact of education on crime reduction and earnings. Washington, DC: Author.
7 Alliance for Excellent Education. (2006a). Healthier and wealthier: Decreasing health care costs by increasing educational attainment. Washington, DC: Author.
8 http://www.civicenterprises.net/pdfs/thesilentepidemic3-06.pdf
9 Ongoing "Program Content & Instruction Survey" available at http://www.ja.org/programs/programs.shtml
10 "Junior Achievement Creates Alumni Success" available at www.ja.org
11 Ongoing "Program Content & Instruction Survey" available at http://www.ja.org/programs/programs.shtml
12 Synthesis of independent evaluation findings from 2000-2009
13 "Junior Achievement Creates Alumni Success" available at www.ja.org
14 Ongoing "Program Content & Instruction Survey" available at http://www.ja.org/programs/programs.shtml
15 Synthesis of independent evaluation findings from 2000-2009
16 2001-2003 Longitudinal findings available at http://www.ja.org/files/long_summary.pdf
17 This is a proxy estimate of dropouts; the numbers actually reflect the proportion of seniors to freshman
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