Released: 4/2/2009
Author(s): Emily Anne House
This study presents the public costs of high school dropouts in Wisconsin. We examine how dropouts in the state dramatically impact state fi nances through reduced tax revenues, increased Medicaid costs, and high incarceration rates. This study examines just how much high school dropouts cost Wisconsin’s taxpayers each year, and how much could be saved through increasing the state’s graduation rate.
Though Wisconsin boasts one of the nation’s highest graduation rates, there is still room for improvement. The achievement gap between races in the state is staggering, as 86 percent of white students earn high school diplomas while only 44 percent of African Americans and 48 percent of Hispanic students graduate. This cohort of dropouts costs Wisconsin hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
