Regional Factor’s Effects on High School Graduation Rates: Empirical Evidence Using U.S. State-Level Data

Abstract: This paper focus on the effects of factors that affect family stability and their effects on high school graduation rates. We use state-level data through the years 2011-2018. We find that the unemployment rate has a high negative correlation with graduation rates. The other notable factor is the location of the state. Most interestingly high schools located in the west were found to have an average of 6.6% lower graduation rate than those in the Northeast. In the future, researchers may also look at household income, alcohol consumption rate, and crime rates to see their effects on the graduation rate.

Key words: high school dropout rate, economics performance, regional factor

JEL codes: I23, I25