Definition: Percentage of high school students graduating with a regular high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade

Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

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, lung disease, mental health problems and premature death. Additionally, students who drop out of high school are more likely to experience incarceration.

Each high school dropout costs the United States more than $272,000 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 associated with higher civic engagement in adulthood.

WHO IS AFFECTED?

The prevalence of high school completion is higher among:

• Women compared with men. 
• White, Black, Asian and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults compared with Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native adults.
• Those who do not have children during high school compared with teenage mothers. 
• Students without a disability compared with students who have a disability.
• Students who are proficient in English compared with students with limited English proficiency.

GOALS

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

 Source: https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/hs_completion/IN   Last accessed March 2024.

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 that can improve rates of high school or GED completion — and ultimately, health equity — include: 

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

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 these barriers. 

Source: https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/hs_completion/IN   Last accessed March 2024.

Certain environments can play a role in students’ likelihood of completing high school. Students’ home and school environments impact the likelihood that they will graduate from high school.^6,8,9,10 Researchers have found that students whose parents are not involved in their schooling are less likely to complete high school.^8,9 Studies also show that high school students who attend smaller schools and who rank their teachers as “high quality” are more likely to graduate.^6,9 Other school climate factors — such as teachers’ lack of interest and students’ perception of an ineffective and unfair discipline system — are linked to higher rates of student dropout.¹⁰ Additionally, dropout rates are higher in schools with higher rates of violence and safety issues.¹¹ Relatedly, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students report that physical and verbal abuse in school often influences their decision to drop out.¹²  

Students from low-income families often have less access to resources, and they tend to live in communities with underperforming schools.¹³ These factors may contribute to lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates.¹³ In 2016, the number of young people ages 16 to 24 years who did not complete high school or were not enrolled in high school was 3.7 times higher in low-income families compared to high-income families.¹⁴

Source: https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/high-school-graduation Last accessed March 2024.

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.

Source: https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/hs_completion/IN  Last accesses March 2024.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data,  2/20/2025
 

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/hs_completion/IN  Last accessed October 2024.

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/hs_completion/IN  Last accessed March 2024.