The Role of the Community in Ed-Reform: Part 1, The Business Role
Peyton R. Patterson, Chair of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform. Former President & CEO of New Alliance Bank.
We are fortunate to live in one of the wealthiest states in the country. However, we are here today because we also live in the state with the widest achievement gap in the country. This gap has an enormous impact on our state’s low-income students, 40% of whom do not graduate from high school in four years. Studies have shown that high school dropouts have an unemployment rate that is nearly two-and-a half times the rate for high school graduates. They also earn a mere 2/3 of the income of high school graduates, and each cost the state more than $500,000 in net fiscal lifetime benefits. These results are not acceptable outcomes for the state's students or their parents. They also do not bode well for Connecticut’s business and economic viability.
The Achievement Gap - Economic Implications
Did you know that Connecticut has the largest achievement gap in the country?
This means that there’s a huge difference between the way our low-income and non-low-income students perform academically.
In addition to the obvious moral issues this raises, the economic implications are huge. According to the former CEO of New Alliance Bank, Peyton Patterson, the achievement gap “could have a crippling financial impact on Connecticut’s economy.”
Now, if you’re thinking that this gap can be explained through the stellar performance of our state’s wealthier students - think again: