Dropping Out, Opting In

Why the National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe Program for High School Dropouts is a Solid Social Investment

Francisco Perez-Arce, Louay Constant, David S. Loughran, Lynn A. Karoly

Data VizPublished May 14, 2014

High school dropouts are more likely than graduates to commit crimes, abuse drugs and alcohol, have children out of wedlock, earn low wages, be un- or underemployed, and experience poor health. But individuals and families aren’t the only ones who suffer: Society bears costs, too, paying for dropouts’ increased dependency on welfare, increased criminal activity, and decreased engagement in community service.

RAND researchers studying the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program — an intensive residential and mentoring program for qualified dropouts ages 16 to 18 — found that the benefits associated with the program more than repay society’s investment in it.

154 Days

Time a cadet spends in residence at a base or training center

22 Greater

Chance that a cadet will get a GED, compared with nonparticipants

18 Months

Time a cadet spends in a post-residential mentoring relationship

2,266 More

Change in a cadet’s monthly wages, compared with nonparticipants

$15,436 in Costs

Program cost per cadet, in terms of operating and opportunity costs

$40,985 in benefits

Program benefits per cadet, in terms of additional lifetime earnings, reduced social welfare dependency and criminal activity, and increased community service

The Bottom Line $166% Return on Investment

NOTE: Costs and benefits are estimates of the present discounted value and include deadweight loss of taxation.
SOURCE: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, Francisco Perez-Arce, Louay Constant, David S. Loughran, Lynn A. Karoly, RAND/TR1193, 2012.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Perez-Arce, Francisco, Louay Constant, David S. Loughran, and Lynn A. Karoly, Dropping Out, Opting In: Why the National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe Program for High School Dropouts is a Solid Social Investment. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2012. https://www.rand.org/pubs/infographics/IG103.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This publication is part of the RAND infographic series. RAND infographics are design-focused, visual representations of data and information based on a published, peer-reviewed product or a body of published work.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.