The Business Case for Student Retention in Education
Research shows us that kids who drop out of school are 50% more likely to have fallen behind as early as kindergarten. We must capture kids' attention and compel them to desire to reach higher in their individual capacity for excellence. Students who are interested in learning are more likely to excel in their classes and retain information beyond their current grade level.
Scientific neurological evidence suggests retention is based on a student's ability to relate information to prior and personal knowledge:
"Information that is irrelevant to a student’s prior body of knowledge is viewed as a threat to that student’s Reticular Activating System (RAS) - a filter in the brain that decides if sensory information should be stored long term or completely disregarded. Information that makes it through the RAS are those in which the brain can associate with through personal relevance or emotional engagement. Long lists of vocabulary words don’t have personal relevance and do not resonate with a topic about which the student has been engaged are likely to be blocked by the brain’s affective or emotional triggers.” "
- Judy Willis, a neuroscientist and former teacher
The Game Ready U Talent Development Program seeks to ensure that neurological receptors are accepted in the brain by providing a core curriculum that is relevant to what students see every day in sports. The program serves as a way of increasing the likelihood of student’s associating the traditional classroom subjects with what they see in everyday life.
Retention Rates vs. Drop-Out Rates:
In these times not having a degree equates to social impacts that are too expensive for our communities to pay:
- A higher unemployment rate
- Difficulty finding and maintaining jobs
- An increased probability of family problems such as domestic violence
- The likelihood of entering prison which costs taxpayers on average $48,000 per
inmate, when all the while, the average student receives only $7,000 for public
education..
- Every female high school student who goes on to attend college, society saves
$48,600 over her lifetime. Every African- American male who goes on to finish
college instead of dropping out of high school saves society $294,000 over a lifetime.
- An increase in drug related crimes and gang violence
Meanwhile, successful college readiness programs, such as Game Ready U Talent Development Program provide many societal benefits including:
- Increases enrollment in Honors and AP courses
- Early exposure to advanced courses, which leads to higher scores on College
Preparatory Tests such as the ACT and SAT
- Increased scholarship opportunity and higher college retention rates
- Higher job satisfaction
- Healthier lifestyles
- Fewer Social Costs over a lifetime
- Increased earning potential
Scientific neurological evidence suggests retention is based on a student's ability to relate information to prior and personal knowledge:
"Information that is irrelevant to a student’s prior body of knowledge is viewed as a threat to that student’s Reticular Activating System (RAS) - a filter in the brain that decides if sensory information should be stored long term or completely disregarded. Information that makes it through the RAS are those in which the brain can associate with through personal relevance or emotional engagement. Long lists of vocabulary words don’t have personal relevance and do not resonate with a topic about which the student has been engaged are likely to be blocked by the brain’s affective or emotional triggers.” "
- Judy Willis, a neuroscientist and former teacher
The Game Ready U Talent Development Program seeks to ensure that neurological receptors are accepted in the brain by providing a core curriculum that is relevant to what students see every day in sports. The program serves as a way of increasing the likelihood of student’s associating the traditional classroom subjects with what they see in everyday life.
Retention Rates vs. Drop-Out Rates:
In these times not having a degree equates to social impacts that are too expensive for our communities to pay:
- A higher unemployment rate
- Difficulty finding and maintaining jobs
- An increased probability of family problems such as domestic violence
- The likelihood of entering prison which costs taxpayers on average $48,000 per
inmate, when all the while, the average student receives only $7,000 for public
education..
- Every female high school student who goes on to attend college, society saves
$48,600 over her lifetime. Every African- American male who goes on to finish
college instead of dropping out of high school saves society $294,000 over a lifetime.
- An increase in drug related crimes and gang violence
Meanwhile, successful college readiness programs, such as Game Ready U Talent Development Program provide many societal benefits including:
- Increases enrollment in Honors and AP courses
- Early exposure to advanced courses, which leads to higher scores on College
Preparatory Tests such as the ACT and SAT
- Increased scholarship opportunity and higher college retention rates
- Higher job satisfaction
- Healthier lifestyles
- Fewer Social Costs over a lifetime
- Increased earning potential
