High School Graduation in Louisiana

Louisiana

The connection between education and health is well-documented. Higher educational attainment is associated with better jobs, higher earnings, increased health literacy, better self-reported health and fewer chronic conditions. Individuals with lower educational attainment are at a greater risk of adverse health outcomes such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, mental health problems and premature death. Additionally, students who drop out of high school are more likely to experience incarceration.

Each individual who does not graduate high school costs the United States more than $260,000 in lost revenue over a lifetime based on the differences between dropouts and graduates in income, taxes paid and government spending on health, crime and welfare. Increased time in school is also connected to higher civic engagement in adulthood.

The prevalence of high school graduation is higher among:

• Asian and non-Hispanic white students compared with American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic Black students.
• Students who do not have children compared with students who have children. 
• Students who do not have a disability compared with students who have a disability.
• Students who are proficient in English compared with students with limited English proficiency.

Keeping children and adolescents in school through high school graduation and beyond is key to increasing equitable health outcomes. Several programs have been successful in improving high school graduation rates by targeting high-risk populations. Strategies for increasing graduation rates — and ultimately, health equity — include: 

• Vocational training and alternative schooling.
• Social-emotional skills training.
• College-oriented programming, mentoring and counseling.
• Attendance monitoring and case management.
• Community service opportunities.

The Institute of Education Sciences lists several recommendations for preventing dropout and improving graduation rates, including providing intensive, individualized support to students who have fallen off track and engaging students by offering curricula and programs that connect schoolwork with college and career success.

Interventions to increase high school graduation rates should target social, economic and health-related barriers to graduation. These include absenteeism, chronic illness, poverty, hunger, developmental delay due to chronic stress, homelessness and teen pregnancy. The expansion of school-based health centers can help address some of these barriers.

Increasing the proportion of students who graduate in four years with a regular diploma is a Healthy People 2030 adolescent health objective.

American Public Health Association. 2018. “The Dropout Crisis: A Public Health Problem and the Role of School-Based Health Care.” Washington, D.C.: APHA Center for School, Health and Education. https://apha.org/-/media/Files/PDF/SBHC/Dropout_Crisis.ashx.

Anna Zajacova and Elizabeth M. Lawrence. 2018. “The Relationship between Education and Health: Reducing Disparities through a Contextual Approach.” Annual Review of Public Health 39 (April): 273–89. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031816-044628.

Arenson, Michael, Philip J. Hudson, NaeHyung Lee, and Betty Lai. 2019. “The Evidence on School-Based Health Centers: A Review.” Global Pediatric Health 6 (January): 2333794X1982874. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X19828745.

Cutler, David, and Adriana Lleras-Muney. 2006. “Education and Health: Evaluating Theories and Evidence.” w12352. NBER Working Paper 12352. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w12352.

———. 2007. “Education and Health.” Policy Brief #9 9. Ann Arbor, MI: National Poverty Center, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at University of Michigan. http://www.npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief9/.

DeBaun, Bill, and Martens Roc. 2013. “Saving Futures, Saving Dollars: The Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and Earnings.” Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Excellent Education. https://all4ed.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SavingFutures.pdf.

Flanagan, Constance, Peter Levine, and Richard Settersten. 2009. “Civic Engagement and the Changing Transition to Adulthood.” CIRCLE, Tufts University. https://circle.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/2020-02/civic_engagement_changing_transition_adulthood.pdf.

Hahn, Robert A., John A. Knopf, Sandra Jo Wilson, Benedict I. Truman, Bobby Milstein, Robert L. Johnson, Jonathan E. Fielding, et al. 2015. “Programs to Increase High School Completion: A Community Guide Systematic Health Equity Review.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 48 (5): 599–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.12.005.

Hummer, Robert A., and Elaine M. Hernandez. 2013. “The Effect of Educational Attainment on Adult Mortality in the United States.” Population Bulletin 68 (1): 1–16. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25995521/.

Lundborg, Petter. 2012. “The Health Returns to Schooling—What Can We Learn from Twins?” Journal of Population Economics 26 (2): 673–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-012-0429-5.

Perper, Kate, Kristen Peterson, and Jennifer Manlove. 2010. “Diploma Attainment Among Teen Mothers By Kate Perper, M.P.P., Kristen Peterson, B.A., and Jennifer Manlove, Ph.D.” Publication #2010-01. Child Trends. https://www.childtrends.org/es/publications/diploma-attainment-among-teen-mothers.

“Why Education Matters to Health: Exploring the Causes.” 2014. Issue Brief #2 2. Education and Health Initiative. Richmond, VA: The VCU Center on Society and Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://societyhealth.vcu.edu/media/society-health/pdf/test-folder/CSH-EHI-Issue-Brief-2.pdf.