High School Graduation Racial Disparity

High School Graduation Racial Disparity in California

California

Education is a social determinant of health, and educational attainment is a strong predictor of future health outcomes. Higher educational attainment is associated with better jobs, higher earnings, increased health knowledge, 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, lung disease, mental health problems and premature death. Students who drop out of high school are more likely to experience incarceration. Significant disparities persist in high school graduation by race and ethnicity in the United States. 

The high school graduation rate is lowest among American Indian/Alaska Native and Black students. Asian/Pacific Islander students have the highest rate, followed by white and Hispanic students. Minnesota has the largest high school graduation racial gap, followed by South Dakota and Wyoming.

Efforts to close racial and economic gaps in educational achievement must begin in early childhood when those gaps first appear. Kentucky has had success in reducing disparities in education by: 

• Making school funding more equitable.
• Involving legislators, educators, community leaders and organizations, parents and other stakeholders in reform and accountability efforts.
• Collecting student-centered data that educators can use to identify and intervene with at-risk students in real-time.
• Creating unique learning environments that foster equitable education.

Keeping children and adolescents in school through high school and beyond is a key strategy to improve health equity. Various high school completion programs have successfully improved high school graduation rates by focusing on at-risk youths. These programs include vocational training, alternative schooling, social-emotional skills training, college-oriented programming, mentoring and counseling, attendance monitoring, community service opportunities and case management.

Eliminating health disparities, achieving health equity and attaining health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all people is a Healthy People 2030 overarching goal. Healthy People 2030 also aims to increase the proportion of students who graduate high school in four years.

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