Social Costs of Inadq Eductn 10-2005

8/9/2019 Social Costs of Inadq Eductn 10-2005

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The Social Costs of Inadequate Education

Te rst annualeachers College Symposium on Educational Equity

Conducted by

The Campaign for Educational Equity

TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSIY

on October 24-26, 2005

Sponsored by the Laurie M. isch Foundation

A Summary by Symposium Chair

Professor Henry M. LevinWilliam Heard Kilpatrick Proessor o Economics and Education,

eachers College, Columbia University


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http://www.tcequity.org

Te Price o Inequity

Educational inequity is rst and oremost an issue o justice and airness, but it is also an issue that aects allo us in our daily livesand will aect our children even more so.

Among the ndings presented at the 2005 eachers College Symposium on Te Social Costs o InadequateEducation:

A

high schooldropout earns

about $60,000less over a lietime than

a high school gradu-ate and pays about

$60,000 less intaxes

Annuallosses exceed $50

billionin ederal andstate income taxes or all

23,000,000 U.S. highschool dropouts

ages 18-67

Increasing the high

school completion rate by just 1 per-

cent or all men ages 20-60 would savethe U.S. up to $1.4 billion per year

in reduced costs rom crime

America loses $192

billion1.6% o GDPincombined income and tax revenuewith each cohort o 18-year-olds

who never completehigh school

Highschool dropouts

have a lie expectancythat is 9. years shorter

than high schoolgraduates

Preschool

programs createeconomic benets

including reduced costso crime, drug use and teen

parentingthat range as

high as $7 or

each dollarinvested

A

one-year in-crease in average years

o schooling or dropouts

would reducemurder andassault by almost 30percent,

motor vehicle thet by 20 percent,arson by 13 percent, andburglary and larceny by

about 6 percent

A

shortall o7 million college-

educatedworkers inAmerica is projected

by 2012

College

graduates are threetimes more likelyto vote than Ameri-cans without a high

school degree

Health-related losses or the

estimated 600,000 high school

dropouts in 2004 totaled at least $58billion, or nearly $100,000 per

student


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able o Contents

Symposium Presenters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Preace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Part I: Inequality in America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Economic Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Consequences o Black-White Disparities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Part II: Demography, Changing Workorce Demands and

the Consequences o Under-Investment in Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Part III: Te Economic Costs o Inadequate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Dropouts versus High School Graduates: axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Dropouts versus High School Graduates: Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Dropouts versus High School Graduates: Criminal Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Dropouts versus High School Graduates: Public Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Part IV: Te Civic Costs o Inadequate Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Part V: Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

High-Quality Early Childhood Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Preschool, Parental Involvement and ransormative School Reorm . . . . . . . . 20

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

The Campaign for Educational EquityTEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSIY

525 West 120th Street, Box 219New York, NY 10027-6696

212-678-3291www.tcequity.org

Michael A. Rebell Laurie M. ischExecutive Director Board Chair


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4 http://www.tcequity.org

Symposium Presenters

Tomas Bailey

George & Abby ONeil Proessor o Economics and Education and Director o the Institute onEducation and the Economy, eachers College, Columbia University

Implications of Educational Inequality for the Future Workforcehttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/70_Bailey_paper.ed.pdf

Clive Belfeld

National Center or the Study o Privatization in Education, eachers College, Columbia Universityand Assistant Proessor o Economics, Queens College, City University o New YorkTe Promise of Early Childhood Educationhttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/72_Belfield_paper.ed.pdf

Ronald F. Ferguson

Wiener Center or Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School o Government, Harvard Universityoward Skilled Parenting and ransformed Schools: Inside a National Movement forExcellence with Equityhttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/71_Ferguson_paper.ed.pdf

Jane Junn

Associate Proessor o Political Science & Te Eagleton Institute o Politics, Rutgers UniversityTe Political Costs of Unequal Educationhttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/73_junn_paper.ed.pdf

Enrico Moretti

Associate Proessor in the Department o Economics, University o Caliornia, BerkeleyDoes Education Reduce Participation in Criminal Activities?http://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/74_Moretti_Symp.pdf

Peter Muennig

Assistant Proessor in Health Policy and Management, Mailman School o Public Health,Columbia University

Health Returns to Education Interventionshttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/81_Muennig_paper.ed.pdf

Richard Rothstein

isch Proessor, eachers College, Columbia University and Research Associate,Economic Policy Institute

amara Wilder

Doctoral Student in Politics and Education, eachers College, Columbia UniversityTe Many Dimensions of Racial Inequalityhttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/83_Rothstein.pdf


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Cecilia Elena Rouse

Proessor o Economics and Public Aairs, Woodrow Wilson School o Public and

International Aairs

Te Labor Market Consequences of an Inadequate Educationhttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/77_Rouse_paper.pdf

Marta ienda

Maurice P. During Proessor in Demographic Studies and Proessor o Sociology and

Public Aairs, Princeton UniversityDiversity and the Demographic Dividend: Achieving Educational Equity in an Aging White Societyhttp://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/78_Tienda_paper.ed.pdf

Jane Waldogel

Proessor o Social Work and Public Aairs, School o Social Work, Columbia University

Irwin Garfnkel

Mitchell I. Ginsberg Proessor o Contemporary Urban Problems andChair o the Social Indicators Survey Center, School o Social Work, Columbia University

Brendan Kelly

Doctoral Student, School o Social Work, Columbia University

Public Assistance Programs: How Much Could Be Saved with Improved Education?http://devweb.tc.columbia.edu/manager/symposium/Files/79_waldfogel_paper.ed.pdf


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Preace

Te inadequate and inequitable opportunities oered to poor and minority youth today are perhaps thegreatest challenge acing Americas schools and social institutions and pose a major threat to our country. Teyare a moral threat: In an age when the best jobs require higher levels o skills and knowledge than ever beore

in history, some children do not have the education to compete or them, simply because o their parentsskin color or income. Tey are a social threat because inadequately educated children are more likely to bearrested, become pregnant, use drugs, experience violence and require public assistance. Tey are an economicthreat, diminishing the competitiveness o Americas current and uture workorce. And they are a civic threat,because our childrens overall enranchisementtheir personal stake in societyso clearly mirrors theireducational level.

Te Campaign or Educational Equity at eachers College, Columbia University was launched in June 2005.From October 24-26, Te Campaign held its rst annual research Symposium. Te ocus was Te SocialCosts o Inadequate Educationthe enormous economic and civic costs America incurs as a result o chronicinequities that plague its systems o education, health, housing and income distribution. Trough researchpresentations by 12 leading social scientists, the Symposium provided the most accurate portrait to date o the

increased costs in crime, compromised health, poor preparation or competitive employment, and lost incomeand tax revenue that America incurs because o these inadequate institutions. It also characterized damage tothe social and civic abric o the nationan equally heavy toll that accumulates annually with each cohorto high school dropouts. And it provided a glimpse o a uture, only several decades hence, wheni presenttrends continuethe minority groups with the lowest overall levels o education will account or over 50percent o the U.S. student population.

Tis comprehensive eort to assess the costs o inadequate education reects the wide-ranging causes andimpacts o educational inequity. And it points to the need or comprehensive solutions. o meet the globaleconomic challenges o an increasingly at world; to prepare students to be capable civic participants in ademocratic society; and to ensure that childrens racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, or amily background no longerso strongly predicts their access to educational opportunity or their ultimate level o achievement, school

reorm must address the ull array o actors that aect students educational perormance.

Several researchers at our Symposium ocused on the cost-predictive impact o a single variable: ailureto graduate rom high school. Certainly other studies and conerences have mined this territory. Whatdistinguished this Symposium was the extent to which certain presenters used this variable to isolate thespecic cost impact o inadequate education, as distinct rom any associated impact o ethnic background,amily wealth, parents education and other actors.

By comparing graduation rates in states with dierent compulsory schooling laws, or example, the researchpresented at our Symposium broke new ground in showing a relationship between high school graduation andreduction in criminal activity. Other researchers demonstrated the direct relationship between having a highschool degree and the likelihood o avoiding the need or public assistance. Te relationship between high

school graduation and improved health, active civic participation and job opportunities were also quantiedby other presenters at the Symposium. In addition, the Symposium presented aggregated data on the cost tosociety when generations o young people contribute reduced tax revenue due to low-level jobs; or rely onpublic assistance because o lack o marketable job skills; or end up being incarcerated.

Te value o these new data on economic costs is particularly relevant at a time when plaintis in a growingnumber o states are winning signicant monetary awards in school nance cases. Our ndings suggestthat an up-ront investment in education, even one that costs billions o dollars, can prevent much higher


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expenditures later on. Te 2002 ederal No Child Let Behind Act, with its emphasis on improving theperormance o all students, also makes the ndings o this Symposium especially timely.

Tis narrative divides the research presented at the Symposium into ve main sections. In Part I, ProessorRichard Rothstein and doctoral student amara Wilder, both o eachers College, set the stage by providingan overview o inequities in contemporary American societynot only in education, but also in health,housing and economic security. Teir broad ocus reects the reality that in our society, education bothmirrors and underlies other inequities; it is both a cause and an eect. o highlight this complex synergy,Rothstein and Wilder exclusively contrast the situation o whites with that o blacks, who contend with boththe residual legacy rom slavery and current policies that perpetuate economic segregationa combinationthat includes glass ceilings and other labor market issues, inerior housing and housing stability, dangerousneighborhoods, less substantial amily assets, and poorer health and health care.

Ampliying this portrait o disparities in one slice o the population, Part II o this narrative reports onthe nations rapidly shiting demographics, describing how the demands o the new inormation economy,coupled with Americas underinvestment in education, are laying the ground or economic and civic disasterin the coming decades. Part III specically looks at education as an independent variable and analyzes itsunique impact on the lie chances o the individual, and on the economic and civic wellbeing o society. PartIV examines the impact o inadequate education on the civic engagement o young people. Finally, we presentthe work o researchers who oer potential solutions to remedying the proound social problem o inadequateeducation. o a large extent, their proposals ocus on interventions targeted at the earliest years o lie.

Michael A. RebellExecutive DirectorTe Campaign or Educational Equity

Our indings suggest that an up-ront

investment in education, even one that

costs billions o dollars, can prevent much

higher expenditures later on.


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Part I: Inequality in America

We begin this investigation with a ocus on black-white inequality because American societys roots in slaverymake this gap o overwhelming moral importance and because more complete data are available on black-

white than on other inequalities

Te report by Rothstein and Wilder describes inequalities between blacks and whites in 10 broad domains.Tese include not only academic achievement and educational attainment, but also early childhood and ater-school experience; health; cultural and amily lie; citizenship; and economic security.

Te data the authors present are descriptive and do not imply a causal relationship between any o the variousdomains. Yet taken together, the ndings in each area present a powerul and disturbing picture o the oddsagainst a black child achieving at a level commensurate with his or her white peers.

Education

Within education, Rothstein and Wilder looked at three domains: academic achievement (studentsperormance on test scores), school readiness and educational attainment (number o years in school/degreesearned). According to multiple measures across these domains, whites consistently outperorm blacks.

At the broadest level, black students (elementary and secondary) on average rank at about the 27th percentileo achievement, as compared to their white peers, who score at the 61st percentile on a national distribution(see Figure 1). Tat is, in a comparison o all school children in the U.S., the average black student ranks atthe lower end o academic achievement while the average white student scores in the upper range.

Young white children are more school-ready than their black peers. Te authors ound that on average,black children are at the 40th percentile o school readiness or early childhood preparation, while young whitechildren are at the 57th percentile (see Figure 2).

FIGURE 1 BLACK AND WHITE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

27

61

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Blacks

Whites


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School readiness measures a childs learning experiences beore starting school, which may be a actor inthe academic achievement gap (measured by dierences in test scores) once elementary school begins. Te

years prior to kindergarten are ormative ones during which there is potential or a great deal o learning anddevelopment. A child who is exposed to reading, books, computers and supervised play beore he or she startsschool is advantaged both academically and socially. Tese advantages have been shown to persist beyond justthe early grades. In addition, inequality during childrens school years is urther compounded by dierencesin out-o-school experiences that contribute to school success.

Not surprisingly, the consequences o accumulated inequities in school readiness and academic achievementbecome apparent in educational attainment. Based on a number o indicators, Rothstein and Wilder report thaton average, black children and young adults score at the 38th percentile in academic attainment while their

white counterparts score at the 51st percentile ona national distribution (see Figure 3). Te domainacademic attainment includes indicators such ashigh school graduation rates, percentage o GEDsawarded, and enrollment and completion o college.

However, the authors maintain that the educationattainment gap also grows out o persistent class and

caste dierences, including inequalities in health,economic security and employment.

A child who is exposed to

reading, books, computers and

supervised play beore he or

she starts school is advantaged

both academically and socially.

hese advantages have been

shown to persist beyond just

the early grades.

FIGURE 2 BLACK AND WHITE SCHOOL READINESS

40

57

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Blacks

Whites


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HealthHealth inequities come to light shortly ater conception; or example, the degree o medical attention duringearly pregnancy is an especially powerul predictor o various lietime outcomes. wenty-ve percent o blackmothers get no prenatal care during the rst trimester, as compared to 11 percent o white mothers. Amongblack mothers, 6 percent get late prenatal care or no care at all, but only 2 percent o white mothers get nocare or care that is too late.

During the rst year o lie, there are 14 deaths or blacks and 6 or whites per 1,000 live births. Inantmorbidity (illness) tends to track with inant mortality, so the higher rate o black inant mortality stronglysuggests a similarly higher rate o black inants who survive with health issues that make school and lietimesuccess more difcult. Adequate prenatal care would probably signicantly ameliorate both gaps.

FIGURE 3 BLACK AND WHITE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

38

51

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Blacks

Whites

FIGURE 4 HEALTHY PREGNANCY AND INFANCY

AMONG BLACKS AND WHITES EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

37

54

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Blacks

Whites


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Racial dierences in rates o healthy pregnancies and live births are paralleled by dierences in birth weight.Low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams) strongly predicts special education placement, lower academicachievement, emotional maladjustment and likelihood o criminal behavior. Tirteen percent o black babieshave low birth weight, versus 7 percent o whites. Among blacks, 3 percent o newborns have very low birth

weight (less than 1,500 grams), a red ag or adverse educational and lietime outcomes. For whites, the rate is

only one-third as great.

In summary, Rothstein and Wilder conclude that the average black experience with healthy and successulpregnancy, childbirth, the neonatal period and inancy is at the 37th percentile o the experience o all U.S.mothers and babies, while the average white experience is at the 54th percentile (see Figure 4).

Rothstein and Wilder also looked at childrens access to healthcare and ound that among children under 18, 14 percent oblacks lack health insurance, including Medicaid or CHIP(ederally subsidized childrens insurance). Among whites inthis age group, only 7 percent lack coverage. Black childrenare thus less likely to get primary and preventive medical care

than whites. Although 87 percent o black children (under18) have seen a doctor in the previous year, compared to 90percent o whites, this relatively small disparity does not reectthe much larger disparities in the average number o doctorvisits, or in the type o medical acility visited. Tese larger dis-parities exist between blacks and whites at all income levels.

Among preschool-aged children, blacks also are likelier than whites to have a range o health problems. Rothstein andWilder ound that black children get less adequate nutrition(dened in terms o essential nutrients). For example, irondeciency anemia, which adversely aects cognitive ability

and predicts special education placement and school ailure, ismore prevalent among black children. Iron deciency anemiaalso predisposes children to lead absorption, which urther de-presses cognitive ability. In ederal programs or low-incomechildren, 19 percent o blacks under the age o ve are anemic, versus 10 percent o whites. Furthermore, blackchildren are more likely to have vision problems, including not only near- or ar-sightedness, but also pooreye muscle development, which aects such reading-related skills as tracking print, converging and ocusing.Optometrists who have tested children in low-income black communities report that as many as 50 percento children may come to elementary school with vision difculties that impair reading ability, compared to 25percent o children in non-poor communities.

Te researchers also analyzed black-white health disparities in school-aged children. Tey report that health

inequalities ound during the preschool years persist as children move through school, but can take somewhatdierent orms. Because the environmental conditions in neighborhoods where disadvantaged children residecontain more allergens, minority and low-income children are more likely to suer rom asthma. Seventeenpercent o black children suer rom asthma, versus 1 percent o white children. Asthma is generally believedto be the single largest cause o chronic school absenteeism. It keeps children up at night, and, those who domake it to school the next day are more likely to be drowsy and less attentive. Children with asthma rerainrom exercise and so are less physically t. Irritable rom sleeplessness, they also have more behavioral prob-lems that depress achievement. Perhaps because o environmental actors, asthma increased or children overall

Seventeen percent o

black children suer

rom asthma, versus

1 percent o white

children. Asthma is

generally believed to

be the single largest

cause o chronic school

absenteeism.


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by 50 percent rom 1980 to 1996. Yet it increased twice as rapidly or black children, perhaps partly becausetheir environments are worse, or because diagnosis in this population, which has been poor, is improving.

Economic Security

Finally, Rothstein and Wilder provide data on a broad range o black-white disparities in economic securityand adult lie experiences, including unemployment, labor market indicators, income ( with inequalitiesactually widening between better educated blacks and whites), household income ( the gap has remainednearly constant since 1967) and amily assets. Black and white adults lead unequal lives as well, the authorsnote. As at previous stages o lie, these inequalities partly continue the inequalities o earlier stages, andpartly they are accelerated.

Consequences o Black-White DisparitiesWhat are the consequences o all these disparities or the education outcomes o black children? Families withless income have less income to devote to the welare o children. Families with less nancial wealth are lessable to save or college. Inequalities in economic security, compounding educational and health inequalities,

contribute to dierences in the adult lives o blacks and whites in American society. Tese inequalitiescycle back into dierences in how black and white adults are able to support and nurture their children,perpetuating inequalities or another generation. In addition, young black adults are less likely than whitesto participate ully in civic lie and democratic governance, either because they are less prepared or it in theirschools and communities, or because they have ewer opportunities or involvement.

An underlying inequality persists acrossmany domains o American society, the authorsconclude. We draw no specic inerencesregarding causality in describing these variousdomains. It is possible that i policy were directedto reducing inequality in some key domains,

or example, health or school readiness, thatinequality in other domains would diminish as aconsequence. However, we consider it probablethat causality runs in many directions: Children

with better academic achievement may earnmore in less stressul jobs and be in better healthas adults. Children with better health may havebetter school attendance and thus have higherachievement. Parents who earn more mayaccumulate savings which can be used to sendchildren to college and inspire them to do so.Because causal relationships between these various

domains are oten multi-directional, it is likelythat black-white inequality can be substantially

reduced only by sustained policy attention to many, i not all o these domains simultaneouslyTereore, we return to our conclusion that eorts to eliminate black-white inequality in

American society should be mounted across all domains, including schools, but not in schoolsalone. Tere is no single policy ocus likely, by itsel, to make the nation equitable.

Eorts to eliminate

black-white inequality in

American society should be

mounted across all domains,

including schools, but not

in schools alone. here is

no single policy ocus likely,

by itsel, to make the nation

equitable.


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Part II: Demography, Changing Workorce Demands and the Consequences oUnder-Investment in Education

[]he most ethnically diverse youth cohorts in U.S. history are coming o age in an aging

society[Tis] poses ormidable social and policy challenges because, on average, the astest growingcohorts are more likely to have parents with little education and lower incomes than the cohorts theyare replacing[]he demographic dividend aorded by the modest, but transitory, minority agebulge will be lost i the nations investment priorities are diverted away rom education.

Both Proessor Marta ienda o Princeton University and Proessor Tomas Bailey o eachers College,Columbia University make a strong case that America is under-investing in education, and in the countrysmost vulnerable young people.

ienda nds that the our states with the highest percentages oimmigrant studentshigh percentages o whom have specialneedsrank among the worst states or high school graduationrates and rates o child poverty. Caliornia ranked 32nd, exas37th, New York 43rd and Florida 50th in child poverty rates. Yetthese three states also rank near the bottom on state per capita edu-cation spendingexas and Caliornia at 34th, Florida at 37th.

Bailey argues that Americas under-investment in education isevident in the lack o educational attainment by its workorcecompared with that o other leading industrialized nations.Historically, Americas international economic leadership waslinked to its enormous lead in educational attainment. oday, atleast seven other countries have surpassed the U.S. in the percentageo 25-34 year olds who have completed the equivalent o college.

Another ve countries are within a couple o percentage points othe U.S. on this measure.

I the experience o blacks, in particular, stands as a remindero injustice in Americas past, it also warns that the past may beprologue. In her paper, Diversity and the Demographic Dividend:

Achieving Educational Equity in an Aging White Society, iendaalso makes the strong utilitarian case that, given current ethnictrends, education is, at the very least, a prudent investment. Tegrowing cohort o U.S. schoolchildren (who, as a group, are morediverse than the general population) could be the uture workorce

that keeps America economically competitive and supports anaging populationor it could be an economic and civic disasterin the making.

Whether the

growing youth

population

will contribute

to economic

productivity or

become a drag on

social resources

hinges crucially on

policy decisions to

bolster educational

investments.


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At present, the growth o certain ethnic groups in the student population coincides ominously with wideningracial and ethnic inequalities. ienda reports that:

In 2000, black and Hispanic students attended segregated schools where two out o threestudents were poor or near poor; moreover, 88 percent o the students attending hyper-

segregated minority schools (i.e., with less than 10 percent whites) were poor, compared withonly 15 percent o students attending equally segregated white schools. Schools where minorities are disproportionately concentrated show enrollments o poorer

students, on average, than predominantly white schools. Graduation rates or central cityhigh schools averaged 58 percent in 2001, compared with 73 percent or suburban schools.

Te annual high school dropout rate o Hispanics remains double that o non-Hispanicwhites.

As o 2000, the Hispanic high school graduation rate was almost three decades behindthat o whites. In that year, 59 percent o Hispanics ages 25 and over achieved high schooldiplomas. Fity-ve percent o whites did so back in 1970.

Only 10 percent o Hispanics ages 25 and over were college graduates in 2000roughlycomparable to whites in 1970.

According to ienda, in 2000, just over hal o the U.S. population were between the working ages o 25 to64, but whites outnumbered minorities by a ratio o 3.5:1, whereas at the post-retirement ages, the white-minority ratio was 10:1. Trough population aging, the working-age population is projected to all to 48

percent by 2030, with the white-minority ratio allingto about 2:1.

Whether the growing youth population willcontribute to economic productivity or become adrag on social resources hinges crucially on policydecisions to bolster educational investments,including broadening access to higher education or

under-represented groups and improving educationaloutcomes based on math and reading scores, highschool graduation rates and college graduation.

Te corollary to the demographic picture paintedby ienda is Proessor Tomas Baileys analysis o apost-secondary education as a critical prerequisite orthe development o highly skilled workers, whomhe sees as essential to Americas ability to remain

internationally competitive in the 21st century. raditional educational inequality in the United States isgoing to increasingly stand in the way o the ability to sustain productivity growth and to compete successullyin international markets, writes Bailey. In the past, educational inequity was a problem primarily or the

individuals who ended up with lower levels o education; increasingly it will be a problem or everyone.

Bailey reports that black and Hispanic students are less likely than whites to reach the 12th grade; that thosewho reach the 12th grade are less likely to enroll in college; that those who enroll in college are less likelyto earn 10 credits; that those earn 10 credits are less likely to enroll in a B.A.-granting institution; and thatthose who do enroll in such an institution are less likely to complete a degree. Given these growing gaps,Bailey nds, the demographic trends described by ienda will make it difcult to increase overall educationalattainment in America.

Educational inequality in

the United States is going

to increasingly stand in the

way o the ability to sustain

productivity growth and

to compete successully in

international markets.


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Furthermore, Bailey reports that given current trendsbetween 2000 and 2020, as the educationalattainment o other countries is expected to rise, educational attainment in America will be alling or therst time in history. Specically, the share o the U.S. population with less than a high school degree is

expected to increase rom 16.1 to 18.5 percent (see Figure 5). Te population shares o all other educationallevels are expected to all slightly as a result. Tus, unless the educational level o Arican Americans andHispanics can be raised over the next 20 years, Americaat a time when it needs more workers with theskills provided by a college educationwill instead experience a signicant growth in the population that has

not even graduated rom high school.

Bailey urther notes that American economic competitiveness today is most vulnerable at the post-secondary level, where it is threatened by a combination o racial and economic educational inequities,declining educational quality and public sector investment, and the growth o ethnic populations that trailin educational opportunities and outcomes. Like ienda, he argues that the country as a whole has aneconomic stake in overcoming these inequities.

Given current trends,

between 2000 and 2020, as

the educational attainment o

other countries is expected to

rise, educational attainment in

America will be alling or the

irst time in history.

FIGURE 5 PROJECTED PERCENT CHANGES IN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

IN 25- TO 64-YEAR-OLDS FROM 2000 TO 2020

16.1

27.8

22.3

7.2

17.118.5

27.3

21.7

7

16.4

9.4 9.1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Less than High

School

High School Some College Associate Bachelor Graduate/Professional

2 000 202 0


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Part III: Te Economic Costs o Inadequate Education

What, specically, is the nancial cost to society when young people do not graduate rom high school? Teresearchers who ocused on this question presented data on lost income and tax revenues and increased healthexpenditures, as well as on increased costs in the areas o public assistance and criminal justice activities that

can be directly linked with ailure to attain a high school degree.

Dropouts versus High School Graduates: axesLower earnings among dropouts alone could be costing the United States as much as $158 billion in lostearnings and $36 billion in lost state and ederal income taxes or each class o 18-year-olds, reports CeciliaRouse o Princeton University. Tose amounts represent about 1.6 percent o the nations gross national grossdomestic product. Rouse also reports that a high school dropout earns about $260,000 less over a lietimethan a high school graduate and pays about $60,000 less in taxes. Annual losses exceed $50 billion in ederaland state income taxes or all 23 million o the nations high school dropouts ages 18 to 67.

Rouse shows that only about hal the nations high school

dropouts hold down regular jobs, compared with 69 percento high school graduates and 74 percent o college graduates.

Adults with bachelors degrees earn almost three times moreannually than dropouts$33,701, compared with $11,989.

Dropouts versus High School Graduates: HealthHealth discrepancies between high school graduates andthose without high school degrees are similarly pronounced,and they, too, are costly to the individual and to society.Peter Muennig, Assistant Proessor in Health Policy andManagement at Columbia Universitys Mailman School oPublic Health, reports that high school dropouts have higherrates o cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes and other ailments,and require an average o $35,000 in annual health-care costs,compared with $15,000 or college graduates. Muennig reportsthat a 65-year-old person with a high school diploma typicallyenjoys better health status than a 45-year-old who dropped outin 10th grade. Overall, high school dropouts live an average onine ewer years than graduates.

Muennig calculates that the net present value o the drop inhealth-related costs due to an increase in attainment rom 11thgrade to high school graduation is approximately $83,000 perstudent. Te net present value o improving all 600,000 highschool dropouts in 2004 by one grade would have been a $41.8billion drop in health-related costs.

Dropouts versus High School Graduates: Criminal ActivityProessor Enrico Moretti o the University o Caliornia at Berkeley sought to quantiy the direct impact oincreased schooling on the likelihood o engaging in criminal activity. Moretti conned his research to states

Lower earnings

among dropouts alone

could be costing the

United States as much

as $158 billion in

lost earnings and $36

billion in lost state

and ederal income

taxes or each class o

18-year-olds...about

1.6 percent o the

nations gross national

gross domestic

product.


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17

with compulsory schooling laws because the presence o these laws rules out other reasonssuch as amilywealth or cultural actorswhy students might stay in school longer. By comparing the criminal activity o astates students in the years beore and ater a compulsory schooling law was enacted, Moretti is able to assert

that any reductions in criminal activity/incarceration were solely, or at least primarily, due to increased education.

Increasing the high school completion rate by one percent or all men ages 20 to 60 could save the U.S. up to$1.4 billion a year in reduced costs rom crime, according to Moretti. He also nds that a one-year increase inaverage years o schooling reduces murder and assault by almost 30 percent, motor vehicle thet by 20 percent,arson by 13 percent, and burglary and larceny by about 6 percent.

Moretti estimates that completing high school raisesindividual annual earnings by more than $8,000. Froma policy perspective, Moretti argues that compulsoryattendance laws are eective in reducing the number odropouts.

Dropouts versus High School Graduates:Public AssistanceImprovements in the educational attainment o Americanstudents also have the potential to sustain current declinesin welare utilization, report Proessors Jane Waldogeland Irwin Garnkel and doctoral student Brendan Kellyo the Columbia University School o Social Work. Teyestimate that America could save between $7.9 billion and$10.8 billion annually in spending on ANF (emporary

Assistance or Needy Families), Food Stamps and housing

assistance by improving the educational attainment othose who currently do not complete high school. Single-mother high school graduates are 24 percent to 55 percentless likely to be on ANF than single-mother high schooldropouts. Te researchers nd that i all single-motherdropouts earned a high school degree, there would be over140,000 ewer recipients on Food Stamps, saving $353million. I all single-mother dropouts earned high schooldegrees and some also attained additional education,63,000 ewer single-mother amilies would be on housingassistance, saving an additional $313 million annually.

Finally, they estimate that i one third o all Americanswithout a high school education (not just singlemothers) went on to get more than a high school education, the savings would range rom $3.8 billion to$6.7 billion or ANF, $3.7 billion or Food Stamps and $0.4 billion or housing assistance.

Increasing the high

school completion rate by

one percent or all men

ages 20 to 60 could save

the U.S. up to $1.4 billion

a year in reduced costs

rom crime...a one-year

increase in average years o

schooling reduces murder

and assault by almost 30

percent, motor vehicle thet

by 20 percent, arson by

13 percent, and burglary

and larceny by about 6

percent.


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Part IV: Te Civic Costs o Inadequate Education

Clearly the nancial impact o inadequate education is signicant, and the potential return rom investingup ront in better educational opportunities or all children is an incentive that crosses all political lines. But

there is another consequence o educational inequity that may pose an even bigger threat over the long term:the damage it inicts by excluding vast numbers o young people rom participation in American civic andpolitical lie.

Like other speakers at the symposium, Proessor Jane Junn o the Eagleton Institute o Politics at RutgersUniversity painted a picture o an American society that is sharply stratied, with whites at the top o theeducation ladder and people o color at the bottom. Junn reports that 25 percent o Latinos have less than aninth grade education, versus just 3 percent o whites. Fourteen percent o blacks and 16 percent o Latinoshave less than a high school education, versus 7 percent o whites; 20 percent o whites hold a bachelorsdegree, versus 12 percent o blacks and 9 percent o Latinos; and 11 percent o whites hold an advanceddegree, versus 5 percent o blacks and 3 percent o Latinos.

Like others who have explored this issue, Junn also nds that people with higher levels o educationalattainment are more civically and politically engaged (see Figure 6). She reports that in 2004, collegegraduates were signicantly more likely to vote than Americans without a high school degree, replicating alongstanding pattern o political participation directly proportional to educational attainment. She ound that39 percent o those with less than a 9th grade education voted in 2004 versus 56 percent o those with a highschool degree/GED, 78 percent o those with a bachelors and 84 percent o those with advanced degrees.

Furthermore, she ound that whites are more civically and politically engaged than other ethnic/racial groups.In 2004, 14 percent o whites contributed to a political campaign versus 5 percent o blacks and 8 percento Latinos; 16 percent o whites contacted a government ofcial in 2004, versus 9 percent o blacks and 9percent o Latinos; and 24 percent o whites signed a petition versus 17 percent o blacks and 20 percent oLatinos.

Education is the cornerstone o democracy because it aids in the cognitive, ideological and strategicdevelopment o democratic citizens, allowing voters to acquire political inormation, deliberate about the

% Citizen population

reported voting, 2000

% Citizen population

reported voting, 2004

% of overall

population, 2004

Less than 9th grade 39 39 6

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 38 40 10

High school graduate or GED 53 56 32

Some college or Associates degree 63 69 27

Bachelors degree 75 78 17

Advanced degree 81 84 9Total: 60 64 101*

*Column adds to more than 100 percent due to rounding.

FIGURE 6 Voting Activity by Educational Attainment, 2000 and 2004


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issues, voice perspectives and engagein politics, Junn writes.

Yet at the same time, Junn arguesthat education does not buy anequal share o voice in the politicalprocessin act, because whites onaverage are better educated and earnmore money (even when comparablyeducated), it can reinorce existingdisparities. Tese are particularlyapparent in political activism thatrequires money and other inequitablydistributed resources. For example,Figure 7 shows that whites are morelikely to contribute to a campaignalmost twice as likely as Latinos and almost three times as likely as blacks.Tere is a stark dierence in the percentage o each group that contacted a government ofcial. Again, whites

were almost twice as likely as blacks or Latinos to contact a government ofcial, an activity that requires aparticular kind o knowledge and oten, access.

Despite the egalitarian potential o education, the racial and class stratication in democratic participation inthe United States is the results o inequities in education, Junn says.

Political Participationby Racial Group, 2004

% White % Black % Latino % AsianAmerican

Electoral activities

Voted in 2000 Presidential Election 68 65 51 61

Persuade others how to vote 22 18 22 22

Attend campaign meeting or rally 9 4 7 7

Work for candidate 5 3 4 3

Contribute to a campaign 14 5 8 12

Average number of electoral activities 1.16 .95 .92 1.05

Other types of participation

Contact government official 16 9 9 14

Sign petition 24 17 20 23

Protest 4 4 4 5

Boycott 11 6 11 11

Average number of other activities .55 .36 .44 .53

Number of Respondents 421 416 416 354

FIGURE 7

Education is the cornerstone o

democracy because it aids in the cognitive,

ideological and strategic development o

democratic citizens, allowing voters to

acquire political inormation, deliberate

about the issues, voice perspectives and

engage in politics.


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Part V: Solutions

Inadequate education in America is ar rom an inevitability. Four presenters at Te Campaigns Symposiumoered solutions to promote adequate education, close the achievement gap and provide signicant benets to

society. Teir proposed solutions ocus on two core concepts: high-quality preschool and meaningul parentalinvolvementnot only in childrens schooling, but in all aspects o their lives that bear on learning.

High-Quality Early Childhood EducationIn Te Promise o Early Childhood Education, Proessor Clive Beleld o Queens College, Te CityUniversity o New York, argues that preschool can reduce inequalities among children both at the starto school and later on in adulthood, while also generating savings or society and or taxpayers. Beleldsresearch shows that eective preschooling reduces inequities by aecting a whole range o behavioral outcomesboth during childhood and throughout lie.

Te key here is the term eective. Broadly speaking, early educational experiences have the potential toprovide children with a range o benets. Tese benets include a cognitive advantage, enhanced amilysupport, a strong educational oundation or schooling and an early socialization into behaviors that areeective later in lie and that may aect receptivity to the learning process and motivation to achieve inschool. However, in analyzing the strong evidence that pre-K can close the readiness gap on entry to school,Beleld concludes that model programs that target select populations by gearing interventions to their specicneeds are more eective at closing the achievement gap than would be a universal pre-K program.

Participation in such model early educationprograms reduces high school dropout rates,special education placements, teen parenting ratesand the uture likelihood o being charged with a

crime. And these changes in behavior in turn holdthe promise or reducing the economic burden inthe long run to society and taxpayers, with up to a$7 return on each dollar invested in preschooling.Other economists consistently have ound thatpreschooling produces societal gains in income taxrevenues as participants earn more; in expendituresavings as schools are able to reduce specialeducation placements and increase grade retention;and in cost savings through reduced need orcriminal justice system expenditures.

Preschool, Parental Involvement and ransormative School ReormProessor Ronald Ferguson o the John F. Kennedy School o Government at Harvard University is also astrong proponent o early education, but he argues that its potential rewards cant be achieved without strongparental involvement and the adoption o proven parenting best practices across cultures. In endorsinga greater emphasis on pre-K, Ferguson calls or center-based preschool programs that work to improveparenting skills as well as school readiness. Such programs are especially benecial to poor children and theiramilies, Ferguson says.

hree decades o research

have shown that parental

participation improves student

learning. And successul

interventions can alter parenting

behavior to improve school

readiness.


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1

Ferguson also calls or a ocus on more skillul parenting outside the preschool setting, also arguing or anational movement ocused on transormative school reorm.

Ferguson reports that three decades o research have shown that parental participation improves studentlearningand he notes that successul interventions can alter parenting behavior to improve school readiness.For example, in one study, it was oundthat equalizing the number o childrensbooks in the home would be predictedto reduce the residual black-white gaps inarithmetic and reading-readiness scores bythe equivalent o one-th and one-thirdrespectively. Ferguson acknowledges thatresource disparities between blacks and

whites are a major obstacle to implementingsuch solutions on a broad scale. He alsoargues that resource disparities at leastpartly explain why parenting practices andopportunities or eective parenting dieracross groups.

In light o the precarious uture Americaaces as a result o its under-investment ineducation, Ferguson calls or a movementor excellence with equity that has as itsgoal raising achievement and closing thegaps, and that should aspire to high-quality learning opportunities or children and adults alike. He proposesa deeply transormative community-level school reorm with the long-term goal o institutionalizingexcellence in the people and their social networks that are embedded in the everyday lie o their districts.

Again, Ferguson recognizes the challenges involved in implementing such a strategy: Progress in a nationalmovement or excellence in equity will require liestyle changes in the ways that the nation does schooling.He argues that transormative, district-level reorm may be the only way to make progress at the scale thenation needs. But, to date, most districtscity, suburban and ruralare woeully behind in such work.

Participation in early education

programs reduces high school

dropout rates, special education

placements, teen parenting rates and

the uture...reducing the economic

burden to society and taxpayers, with

up to a $7 return on each dollar

invested in preschooling.


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Conclusion

Te demographic data presented at the Symposium paint a picture o a not-too-distant uture in whichshould present trends persistthe proportion o young Americans who are least likely to be well educatedor pursue higher education will be on the rise. o an extent, this reects the act that when immigrants

come to the U.S. rom countries with poor educational systems, America reaps the products o othernations educational neglect. Yet, as our Symposium clearly demonstrated, Americas own decades-longunder-investment in education, health, and other human resource institutions, and the nations pronounceddisparities in the distribution o these resources are also primary contributing actors. Among the young, thepopulations that are growing the astest are poor youth and youth o color. hese are the young people mostlikely to attend resource-poor schools, be taught by under-qualiied teachers, be assigned to a special educationtrack, experience more health problems, have less access to quality health care and live in substandard housing.In short, this is the population that will be at highest risk or poor academic achievement and or droppingout. Such individuals already account or economic and social costs to society that are staggering. In lighto projected demographic shits, these costs to society are going to increase dramatically unless there aresignicant changes in policy, spending and allocation o resources that improve not only the schooling, butalso the lie chances o this population.

Furthermore, the demands o the workplace have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Being a highlyskilled worker is an evermore essential prerequisite to the most rewarding employment in the worldwidemarketplace. Young people without a high school degree, or even a college degree, will be more disadvantagedthan ever beoreand increasingly they will handicap Americas ability to compete economically with othernations.

Again, viable solutions are at hand. America can invest in education, in schools, and in its young people. Butas Rothstein and Wilder so eloquently argue, mere investment, while necessary, will not be sufcient, nor willa ocus on education alone.

Children with better academic achievement may earn more in less stressul jobs and be

in better health as adults. Children with better health may have better school attendance andthus have higher achievement. Parents who earn more may accumulate savings which canbe used to send children to college and inspire them to do so. Because causal relationshipsbetween these various domains are oten multi-directional, it is likely thatinequality can besubstantially reduced only by sustained policy attention to many, i not all o these domainssimultaneously.

Te Campaign or Educational Equity at eachers College embraces this comprehensive view o educationalequity. Directly ollowing the Symposium, Te Campaign unveiled an agenda that includes research,demonstration projects, dissemination o inormation and policy recommendations and advocacy in 12 issueareas. Tese range rom development o curriculum to improved student health, to the racial and economicintegration o schools.

Ultimately, as the Symposiums research has shown, the return on such an investment will ar outweigh theinitial cost. Yet the decision to pursue this course must be rooted in more than compelling numbers. For as

Congressman Charles Rangel said in his opening address at our Symposium,

You cant measure the cost o a kid without a dream.

22


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The Campaign for Educational EquityTEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSIY

525 West 120th Street, Box 219New York, NY 10027-6696

212-678-3291www.tcequity.org

Michael A. Rebell Laurie M. ischExecutive Director Board Chair

Documents

Social Costs of Inadq Eductn 10-2005