More is better: That is the conventional wisdom when it comes to graduating from high school. The more students get pushed across the finish line, the better for everyone. Policy has followed that principle — and it has worked. Across the United States, about 87% of students who started high school in 2021 graduated four years later—a significant bump from 2012, when the figure was 80%. Cue copious self-congratulation from governors and educators.
But is this really cause for celebration? The late, great investor Charlie Munger used to say, “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.” In effect, the U.S. has incentivized boosting graduation rates — and that has been the outcome. The more important question is whether students are ready to be informed citizens and productive workers.
The answer here is probably not. The most recent Program for International Student Assessment found that U.S. student performance has dropped sharply for reading while more 15-year-olds are falling short of basic proficiency in math, too.
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