Dropout Age Should Be Changed

Obtaining an education is essential in today’s society. Most students who attend school on a regular basis usually succeed in life. On the other hand, many students fail to attend school every day which can lead to problems in schools. However, some students have acceptable reasons for dropping out. As a result, a student’s punctuality can ultimately alter his or her education. On that note, dropping out of high school can affect an individual in many ways throughout the years. Schools are facing challenges dealing with high dropout rates, high rates of truancy, and low graduation rates because students are failing to attend school.

Should children be required to attend school past the age of 16? In the United States a number of states are currently dealing with that question. The dropout age, historically set at 16 in most of the nation, has been edging up. Currently, 21 states and the District of Columbia have compulsory attendance until 18, and 11 others require attendance until age 17 (Slonick, 2012). According to Statistic Brian Research Institute, percent of US crimes that are committed by a high school dropout is about 75 %. This statistics show people that do not stay in school past the age of 16 years old lacks maturity to make sound adult decisions. A financial benefit of keeping someone in school one extra year will increase their annual income an estimated 10%.

Among one of the numerous debates of today, dropout age seems to be among the most debated. While the general public may wonder why dropout age is even an issue, many will agree that this is a topic worth mentioning in the world today. So what's the whole dispute about? Dropout age has been a concern for many people in the United States for many years now, mainly because while the majority of experts agree on its negative effects, others believe that dropout age shouldn't even matter. However, a group of U.S. Senators has recently taken up a position to lower the age to fourteen. So what's the answer to this debate? Contrary to the Senators' beliefs, dropout ages should be raised to prevent the negative effects high-school dropouts end up having.

A recent study shows that people are more likely to finish something when more than 50 percent of it is already complete. Sophomores in high school still have a good two more years ahead of them, whereas seniors only have a maximum of ten months (Raise the Age, 2009). Even though, there are still multiple reason to why student’s dropout, age should not be one of them.

There’s an old saying, “don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time”. Our youth is doing the crimes, not realizing the true consequences of their actions; hence their immaturity. “Per a 2011 report on the National Institute of Corrections, 250,000 minors wind up in the adult criminal justice system each year.” (Hannum, 2016). But that does not mean, they should be tried as an adult for their crimes. Nor should they get off easy because they are under the age of eighteen. You can pick any day of the week, about 10,000 of our children are being put in adult prisons and jails. (Hannum, 2016). Nearly every year, the FBI arrest more than 33,000 young adults under the age of eighteen for offenses.” (Khan, 2010.). It’s time for society and our

This is being justified by the article, ‘No Pass/No Drive’: The Answer To High Drop-Out Rates, the article states, “With a 25% dropout rate in the United States something must be done. High school dropouts commit about 75% of the crime in the US and are more likely to be unemployed or need government assistance”(6). What this basically means is that if the drop-out rate is lowered the crime rate could be lowered too. This is a good thing because then not as many students would take on a life of crime and not be

The New York State Legislators did the right thing and increased the age of criminal responsibility to eighteen-years-old. New York State will not automatically prosecute sixteen and seventeen-year-olds as adults anymore. Annually, nearly 28,000 sixteen and seventeen-year-olds face the possibility of criminal prosecution as an adult (Raise the age.com, n.d.). Now Adolescents don’t have to worry about adult prosecution in the criminal system. Sixteen and Seventeen-year-olds will have the opportunity to call their parents if they get arrested. Sixteen and

In a news article by The Kansan, writer Jade Hudson Newson reports the correlation between high incarceration rates and discipline in high schools. Faculty member at Bethel College Gary Flory discusses the “School-to-Prison Pipeline” and the correlation between education and prison. Flory shares information about the inmates and what level of education they have and found that a majority of inmates did not have a high school diploma nor a GED. However; Flory makes sure to mention that it is not the lack of education that lands people in prison, but how they were punished in high school. Flory makes the connection that students who we suspended multiple times or expelled were more likely to drop out of high school.

Most of the teenagers who drop out from high school tend to fall into the jail system chain. In the website “Alternative Schools Network” which is dedicated to stopping students from dropping out of school mentions that “Youth dropouts are more likely to be involved in destructive interactions and illicit activities, making them prone to incarceration”. There's a direct relationship between highschool dropouts and the likelihood of them going to jail. High school dropouts are most likely to end up being in a facility center, due to the fact that instead of being involved in their education they are getting involved in crimes or gangs. Not being able to find a good paying job in the first place, high school dropouts tend to recur to illicit activities to make their everyday living which leads them in a life going in and out of prison. Research has shown that “High school dropouts are less likely to receive skills and experience needed for employment”. Once an individual stops attending school they give up the necessary skills and knowledge required for a good job. Most of the times they end up getting a job which pays them barely enough to survive which leads them to illegal activities as a way out of their current

Others may think that juveniles should be sentenced to life without parole because if they are old enough to commit the crime, then they are old enough to serve the time. These individuals may think that teens who commit crimes need to take responsibility for their own actions. However, most teens who are convicted of crime live in a community where they eventually learn that crime is something typical rather than something inhumane. A juvenile serving life without parole mentions in an article, “ I looked to the gang in the streets for love and support…I stopped going to school because I was not learning or getting special help with my learning disability” (qtd. in Nellis 9). This quote demonstrates that these teens who live in a community full of crime, tend to see crime as something that is rather acceptable.

Furthermore, a well-documented connection exists between school dropout and incarceration. For example, a history of arrest prior to age 16 decreases graduation potential by 27% and

In life there are many struggles that interfere with a students education. In the 1970s, the United States had the world’s highest high school graduation rate. Today, we are ranked number twenty-one which shows a decrease in students that graduate. Lowering the dropout rate can solve several economic and social problems. Dropping out of high school has become a controversial topic that will continue for ages to come. Students should be required to stay in school until the age of eighteen because those without a high school diploma have higher unemployment and lower job satisfaction, have lower earnings, and have a higher likelihood of ending up in jail or on public assistance

According to an article published in the New York Times, “about one in every ten young male high school drop outs is in jail or a juvenile detention facility” (New York Times, 2009, p. 1).

Imagine waking up one day and knowing that the teenager that killed your loved one was just released from prison because of his or her age. One might believe that it is an injustice to let a criminal out of jail just because of young age, while others think that it is fair. However, as time goes on, children commit more crimes. Criminals are getting younger and younger, and the crimes are becoming more violent and deadly. Although many people believe that it is wrong to prosecute a juvenile as an adult due to his or her mental immaturity, doing so will result in harsher punishments for the careless people, a decrease in juvenile crime, and a greater chance that children will think about their actions.

Will negatively affect a student's future. Bob Keeshan once said,”Children don't drop out of High School when they are 16 they do so in the first grade and wait 10 years to make it official.” Throughout the years studies have shown that in a year 1.2 million students drop out. Which leads that only 25% of High School students during their freshman year fail to graduate. Dropouts in the United States have became a very trending thing we must get to the bottom of this problem. Young adults should not be making these decisions it's time to step in.