Chronic absenteeism and low graduation rates cost California billions
A new report from Penn GSE’s Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education puts numbers on California’s educational challenges.
2 min. read
A new report uses an economic model to calculate the burdens on California’s school system, its parents, and its economy, and reveals that each year, approximately 75,000 students across California fail to complete high school. The report by Penn’s Graduate School of Education’sCenter for Benefit-Cost Studies (CBCSE) and UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools, titled “The Ten Billion Dollar Deficit: The Economic Burdens of Inequities Across California Schools,” highlights the significant economic and social burdens imposed by low high school graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and disciplinary sanctions in California’s K–12 education system.
“These findings not only highlight the significant economic burdens faced by California but also give us an indication of what the costs could be nationwide. Addressing these challenges can lead to substantial savings and improved educational outcomes across the country,” says co-author A. Brooks Bowden, associate professor of educational policy at Penn GSE and director of the Center for Cost-Benefit Studies of Education.
Key findings of the report show the failure to graduate high school imposes substantial burdens from both social and fiscal perspectives. These students earn less, contribute less in taxes, and draw on government services more frequently than high school graduates, resulting in long-term economic disadvantages.
Chronic absenteeism is another critical issue, with at least one in ten students, and potentially up to three in ten, being chronically absent each year. This absenteeism not only hampers student learning but also adversely affects school efficiency, leading to significant economic burdens.
The report uses new evidence and standard shadow-pricing techniques to calculate the economic burdens, and finds increased high school graduation rates would boost federal and state/local tax revenues, providing a strong incentive for investment in educational resources.
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