Every school day, nearly 7,000 students become dropouts. Annually, that adds up to about 1.2 million students who will not graduate from high school with their peers as scheduled. Lacking a high school diploma, these individuals will be far more likely than graduates to spend their lives periodically unemployed, on government assistance, or cycling in and out of the prison system. If the nation's secondary schools improved sufficiently to graduate all of their students, rather than the 72 percent of students who currently graduate annually, the payoff would be significant. For instance, if the students who dropped out of the Class of 2011 had graduated, the nation's economy would likely benefit from nearly $154 billion in additional income over the course of their lifetimes. Everyone benefits from increased graduation rates. The graduates themselves, on average, will earn higher wages and enjoy more comfortable and secure lifestyles. At the same time, the nation benefits from their increased purchasing power, collects higher tax receipts, and sees higher levels of worker productivity. To reduce dropouts, high schools must be improved to give all students the excellent education that will prepare them for college and a career, and to be productive members of society. (Contains 16 endnotes and 1 footnote.)