Facts and Figures

Facts & Figures

The top three leading causes of death for American Teenagers 13 – 19 are: Accidental Deaths, Homicides, and Suicides. Bullying is a leading factor in the last two causes of death.
Nearly one third of all public school students fail to graduate with their class. (US Census Bureau Report, 2005)
High school dropouts are 72 percent more likely to be unemployed as compared to high school graduates. (U.S. Department of Labor, 2003)
75 percent of America's state prison inmates are high school dropouts. (Harlow, 2003)
Only 14 percent of minority youth will complete four years of college (compared to 49.7 percent of Caucasian youth). (Clearinghouse REVIEW Journal of Poverty Law and Policy • July-August, 2005)
42 million adult Americans can't read; 50 million can recognize so few printed words they are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level; one out of every four teenagers drops out of high school, and of those who graduate, one out of every four has the equivalent or less of an eighth grade education. (National Adult Literacy Survey, 2005)
A survey by the U.S. Department of Justice in the early 1990s estimated that an African American male born in 1991 stood a 28 percent chance of going to prison; an update in 2003 put the odds at 33 percent. (U.S. Department of Justice, early 1990s)
Functional illiteracy affects some 24 million Americans, preventing them from understanding basic instructions, filling out an application for a social security card, or reading a map. They can, indeed read, but with minimal comprehension. (U.S. Department of Education, 2005)
Approximately 30 percent of high school students drop out before graduation, meaning about one million students fail to graduate from high school every year. (U.S. Department of Education)
The United States can recoup nearly $200 billion a year in economic losses and secure its place as the world's future economic and educational leader by raising the quality of schooling, investing more money and other resources in education, and lowering dropout rates. (National Adult Literacy Survey, 2005)