On April 9, 2012 www.baltimoresun.com posted an article entitled “Stay in School”. This article discussed the struggle to increase Maryland’s dropout age to 18. Although keeping it at 16 sets low expectations for students, raising it would cost the state more money than the state can currently afford.  18 other U.S. states have increased its dropout age and found ways to modify its budget to include the rise in age.

I chose to read this article due to a conversation that I had with my principal. We discussed the MANY budget cuts that our school is facing next year. Although I understand the lack of educational funding, I am unaware of the what formulas can be used to assist the city in providing students with a good education while also not “banking” on saving money based upon the 9,000 student who drop out prior to completing high school. The reason for (good) schooling is to provide students with the skills needed to better prepare them for becoming upstanding citizens, who can soon join the states’ work force thus give back to the state. However, if has been proven that many states (Maryland included) spend billions more per year on supporting those without diplomas (through funding imprisonment and social service costs). Therefore, in my opinion wouldn’t it make more sense to keep students in school and educate them so that in later years the state does not have to support them.  Reading this article has encouraged me to continue research. I am hoping to find an exact comparison of the amount of money Maryland spends each year supporting those who have not graduated from high school to the amount saved by students dropping out. Lastly, I hope to find a study, from one of the 18 states which have increased the dropout age to 18, that shows how many of those students would have dropped out if they were not forced to stay in school; and how many of those students then became upstanding citizens who are in no need of support from the state.