Issues Facing Our Youth

Education and Graduation

Nevada ranks last among states for high school graduation rates.

  • In 2008, 34 of the 72 high schools were reported as "dropout factories" - a high school in which less than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year.
  • In 2009, Nevada decreased the number of these high schools from 34 to 28.
  • In 2010, Nevada's fourth and eighth graders placed no higher than 43rd in math or reading on any of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams.
  • In 2010, only 26 percent of high school seniors and 11 percent of high school juniors took the SAT. Of that group, Nevada placed 35th nationally in critical reading, 39th in math and 40th in writing.
  • Of the Nevada students who took the ACT in 2010, only 25 percent met all of the benchmark scores, meaning that 75 percent of those who took the ACT are likely to earn a "D" grade or lower in their college level classes of English Composition, Algebra, Social Sciences and Biology.

Effect of Dropping Out

Nevada's estimated 23,900 students that dropped out from the class of 2010 did so at great costs to themselves and to their communities. Cutting that number of dropouts in half for this single high school class could result in tremendous economic benefits to the state. Below are the contributions that these 11,950 "potential graduates" would likely make to Nevada's economy:

  • Earn as much as $107 million more in an average year compared to their likely earnings without a high school diploma,
  • Spend an additional $78 million during an average year,
  • Invest an additional $30 million during an average year,
  • Purchase homes totaling in value as much as $299 million more than what they otherwise would have spent without a diploma,
  • Spend up to an additional $13 million in vehicle purchases during an average year,
  • Support as many as 700 new jobs and increase the gross state product by as much as $131 million through spending,
  • Grow state tax revenues by as much as $7.8 million during an average year, and
  • Pursue postsecondary education (45 percent).

Had those who dropped out from the high school classes of 2009 and 2010 instead completed their studies and graduated, this group of students would have contributed to a lifetime of earnings of $11.6 billion. This figure represents the lost economic potential of almost $6 billion with each class of dropouts.

Employment

  • About 63 percent of the 46.8 million job openings created by 2018 will require workers with at least some college education.
  • Thirteen percent of Nevada teens are not attending school or working, compared to the national average of eight percent. This is the highest state percentage in the United States.
  • Of Nevada's young people age 18-24, 22 percent are not attending school, not working and have no degree beyond high school, compared to 16 percent nationwide. This state percentage has increased four percent in the past year.

Teen Parenting

Twenty-seven percent of Nevada females are at risk for becoming teen mothers. In 2010, Nevada had the second highest teenage pregnancy rate in the country, with 90 teenage pregnancies per 1,000 or 7,900 births to teen parents.

The average annual cost associated with a child born to a mother 17 or younger in Nevada is $3,040. Included in this cost are: public health care, child welfare, incarceration, lost tax revenue, and decreased earnings and spending capacity. In 2010, this equated to $24 million.