Cutting high school dropout rates by half in Greater Des Moines would increase the gross regional product by nearly $9 million over time, according to a study released today by the Alliance for Excellent Education.

“The best economic stimulus is a high school diploma,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “From the individual student to the bank branch manager, new car salesman or Realtor, everyone wins when more students graduate from high school.”

The study estimates the gross increase in economic factors that Iowa’s largest metropolitan areas would experience by cutting in half the number of students from the Class of 2010 who failed to graduate on time. The factors measured included individual earnings, job creation, spending and investment, home and auto sales, tax revenues and human capital.

In Greater Des Moines, an estimated 1,100 students dropped out of the Class of 2010 without earning a diploma. Cutting this number in half would yield 550 “new” high school graduates who would likely make additional contributions to the Greater Des Moines economy by:
    
* spending $13 million more on home purchases than they would likely spend without a diploma;
* supporting 60 jobs and increasing the gross regional product by as much as $8.9 million by the time they reach the midpoint of their careers;
* earning $6.7 million more in an average year compared with their likely earnings without a high school diploma;
* spending an additional $5 million and investing an additional $1.7 million in an average year.

After earning a high school diploma, 46 percent of these new graduates would likely continue on to some type of postsecondary education, according to the study. However, only about 150 students, or 28 percent of these new graduates, would be expected to complete their studies. Boosting the share of new high school graduates who complete postsecondary programs to 60 percent — President Obama’s goal for the nation — would increase the number of postsecondary graduates to nearly 320.

For the complete findings, click here.