4 out of 5 high schoolers don't go or finish college in AZ

[khuntrevor]

It's a shame, because the ASU and U of A Grads are consistently well educated people, as well as those from that country club in Flagstaff. The CC system is quite good, too, but in reality, I've seen some poor numbers on CC students getting Bachelor's degrees or higher, something like 1 in 7. There is no good reason why families can't plan for and help their kids get through 4 years of school in AZ. The numbers about wages for grads and non-grads are a lot different than your kid thinks--nearly double for the grads. I would stay away from majors that have been historically difficult to find a good job in. My nephew's parents spent about 120K on an English Lit. Degree...........kind of makes you wonder. He luckily found a good job in his field and didn't consider teaching.

[Vincent13]

4 out of 5 is really good. I'm from the Detroit area and our city schools reported only 30% are finishing high school.. I would say Arizona has a great school system compared to back home.

[Uhuh]

Originally Posted by Ritchie_az

I earn above the national average for someone with a Ph.D. and I didn't finish my second year of college....

What line of work is that? [ mod cut-- rude]

[Ritchie_az]

Originally Posted by Uhuh

What line of work is that? How do I know you are not lying?

It's in aviation safety. [mod cut-- response to deleted material]

[camnalex]

Good question. I went to high school in Kingman, Az and when I started h.s. in 2004 there were 2500 students, when I graduated in 2008 there was 500. Granted there is another h.s. there but their graduating class was even lower. I believe its about 50/50 with the parents not caring because Kingman in general has been said to have more meth labs then Phoenix (idk if thats a fact just what i heard), and teenage pregnancy. I personally know around 20 people who dropped out of h.s. because they were having children and know of 30 to 40 more who dropped out for their children, or went to alternative schools to get geds. Do your statistics include geds?

[kdog]

Originally Posted by camnalex

I went to high school in Kingman, Az and when I started h.s. in 2004 there were 2500 students, when I graduated in 2008 there was 500. Granted there is another h.s. there but their graduating class was even lower. I believe its about 50/50

2500 kids starting in your class and 500 graduating is a 20% graduating rate. "50/50" is a 50% graduating rate. So you contradicted yourself. Which is it? Regardless, the actual graduating rate is between 65% and 70% according to the school district. To me that's appalling, but it shows how much you're exaggerating.

with the parents not caring because Kingman in general has been said to have more meth labs then Phoenix (idk if thats a fact just what i heard), and teenage pregnancy. I personally know around 20 people who dropped out of h.s. because they were having children and know of 30 to 40 more who dropped out for their children, or went to alternative schools to get geds. Do your statistics include geds?

You don't know what you're talking about. There are NO meth labs in Kingman and haven't been any since they put the Pseudophedrine controls in place in pharmacies many years ago. There hasn't been a meth lab bust in the 5 years I've been here and probably a lot longer. The bulk of meth into the US now comes from Mexico. And don't tell me otherwise, because I have friends in the prosecutor's office that I've discussed this topic with in length.

You are spreading false information.

[JAinAZ]

We also need to remember that higher education is not for everyone. There are many well paid people out there that never went to college and are perfectly happy doing a job they love. We NEED people like that to do the jobs that won't pay a college educated person what they feel they are worth.

I think sometimes we do a disservice to young people by telling them they HAVE to get a college education. Then the kid goes and flunks out or flounders, and feels like a failure when he could have been established in a field of his choosing and doing well already.

I am by no means anti-college. In fact, I am a 41 year old college student myself! I did not go right after high school due to life getting in the way, but I managed to keep my family in the lower middle class anyway. Now that I don't have kids at home depending on me, I have a couple of part time jobs and go to school. I feel the work I did when I was younger (construction, heavy equipment, driving trucks) will benefit me for the rest of my life.

This world takes all kinds of people, and we need to stop trying to shove everyone into the same mold.