Today Foundation - Education Reform Series – April 2009
Why Should We Care About Kids Who Cannot Read?
Reading failure in Texas is not just an educational problem. It is also a social, health and economic problem. Consider:
- In 2008, more than 118,000 students6
in Texas did not graduate from high school.3
- More than 40% of the African American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students statewide did not graduate from high school.2
- More than 40% of Texas students who dropped-out had limited reading skills.1
- The lost lifetime earnings for Texas students who dropped out prior to their scheduled graduation in 2008 totals more than $30.7 billion.3
- More than $46 billion would be added to the state’s economy by 2020 if students of color graduated from high school at the same rate as white students.3
- Texas' economy would see a combination of savings and revenue of more than $691 million in reduced crime and increased earnings each year if the male high school graduation rate increased by just 5%.3
More than $1.5 billion dollars in health care costs could be saved over the course of a lifetime7
if Texas students who dropped out had earned their diplomas.3
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