When Girls Don't Graduate, We All Fail

A Report Finds that Girls Drop Out of High School at Almost the Same Rate as Boys

A recent report from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), When Girls Don't Graduate, We All Fail: A Call to Improve High School Graduation Rates for Girls, finds that girls drop out of high school at almost the same rate as boys. One in four girls won't graduate with a regular diploma within four years. Plus, the economic costs of dropping out are particularly damaging for girls. Female dropouts earn significantly lower wages than male dropouts, are at greater risk of unemployment, and are more likely to rely on public support programs.

The Center emphasizes that interventions to address the crisis must be tailored to the different needs of boys and girls of all races and ethnicities, based on their distinct experiences and the enhanced research and data collection recommended by the report.

Policymakers, educators, students, and parents all have a role to play in providing the support students need to stay in school. A comprehensive prevention strategy also requires:

• Combating sexual harassment in schools; both boys and girls report that they drop out in part because they do not feel safe at school.
• Providing better support for pregnant and parenting students—pregnancy and parenting responsibilities play a significant role in many girls' decisions to drop out of school.
• Ensuring equal access for girls to career and technical education classes. These classes provide training for high-skill, high-wage jobs; offering career education programs that emphsize the link between academic work, college success, and careers has been proven to reduce dropout rates.
• Ensuring equal access for girls to after-school programs, including athletics. Studies show that participation improves graduation rates and academic achievement.

NWLC has created primers on sexual harassment, pregnant and parenting students, career and technical education, and Title IX athletics requirements. To download, visit www.nwlc.org/dropout.

Photograph: Marinka van Holten