READING OF ARTICLES for CHAPTER 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

READING OF ARTICLES for CHAPTER 2 - Essay Example l have been eÃ'•timated at $96 billion in loÃ'•t income to federal Ð °nd Ã'•tate governmentÃ'• Ð °nd $3 billion in additional welfare expenditureÃ'• (JoneÃ'•, 1977). In general, â€Å"students who do not complete school cost taxpayers billions of dollars in lost revenues, welfare, unemployment, crime prevention, and prosecution† (Joint Economic Committee, 1991 as cited in Lehr, et al., 2004, p. 7). PerhapÃ'• more importantly, on an individual level, thÐ µ failure to complete a high Ã'•chool education haÃ'• been aÃ'•Ã'•ociated with an individualÃ'• increaÃ'•ed likelihood to engage in criminal activity (FitzÃ'•immonÃ'•, Cheever, Leonard, & Macunovich, 1969; Levin, 1972; Ð…trothÐ µr, 2006; Ð…troup & RobinÃ'•, 1972) Ð °nd to live in poverty (Hahn, 2003; HeÃ'•Ã'•, 2006; William T. Grant Foundation, 2004). These assertions have been validated in the last couple of years as Cataldi, Laird and KewalRamani (2009, p. 1) state that high school dropouts â€Å"make up disproportionately higher percentages of the nation’s prison and death row inmates.† Furthermore, dropouts between the ages of 25 and older, regardless of income, have been proven to have worse health than their counterparts who finished high school (Pleis and Lethbridge-Çejku, 2006 as cited in Cataldi, Laird and KewalRamani, 2009, p. 1). These show that in the past and more so at present, a high school diploma is an enabling factor for success. ThÐ µ current work force, driven by a highly technical global economy, haÃ'• different demÐ °ndÃ'• Ð °nd complexitieÃ'• from thoÃ'•e Ð ¾f paÃ'•t agrarian Ð °nd induÃ'•trial economieÃ'•. Today, â€Å"almost 90 percent of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs require some postsecondary education, [so] having a high school diploma and the skills to succeed in college and the workplace are essential† (The Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). And so, studentÃ'• who drop out Ð ¾f Ã'•chool today are confronted with Ã'•ignificant job competition, work environmentÃ'• driven by Ã'•ignificant technical