Education, Culture & the Family

Raising Oklahoma’s high-school graduation rate would reap major benefits

March 9, 2026

Jonathan Small

I’ve often written and spoken about the importance of the “success sequence.” Basically, people who do three things will rarely live in poverty. First, graduate from high school and enter the workforce or obtain a college degree. Second, get a job. And third, get married.

Do all three, in that order, and you will almost always live a life in which you can provide the basics for yourself and your family.

New research from OCPA shows that the first step of the success sequence—graduation—also has great benefits for the entire state.

Oklahoma’s high school graduation rate has hovered around 80 percent. If the share of students who graduate high school were to increase to 90 percent, Oklahoma would see about 5,400 more graduates each year.

What would that mean for the state?

First, those graduates would mostly achieve higher earnings than if they had not graduated, receiving about $54 million in combined additional income.

That in turn would boost state GDP by about $145 million as those workers spend and invest in the state.

There would also be benefits to the state government. Those graduates would pay about $13 million more in state and local tax revenue, and they would be much less likely to become a burden on the state.

A higher high-school graduation rate would translate into a 6.5-percent reduction in crime rates, and Oklahoma would save about $38 million in spending on crime and incarceration.

The state would also save $51.2 million on health-care expenses.

Simply boosting high-school graduation rates from 80 percent to 90 percent would produce a 50-percent reduction in poverty in our state.

Other benefits would accrue as well, although they include many items that are not easily quantified.

Producing more high-school graduates would mean Oklahoma offered a better-educated workforce, which could therefore attract more business and industry than what will occur at current graduation rates.

Higher graduation rates also translate into improved quality of life for those graduates. Educational attainment correlates with improved physical and mental health and longer life expectancy.

Put simply, for kids currently in our K-12 system, finishing high school and leaving with a diploma would enable them to live longer, better, and more financially secure lives. 

The chief obstacle to improving Oklahoma’s graduation rate is the state’s horrific outcomes in reading at the grade-school level. Kids who can’t read at grade level become much more likely to drop out by high school. Fortunately, lawmakers are working to improve reading outcomes by advancing serious reforms this year.

Obviously, improving our high-school graduation rate will not solve all of Oklahoma’s problems. Other challenges must also be addressed. But producing more graduates would have a dramatic, positive impact that becomes undeniable over time.