Reversing the School to Prison Pipeline: The Impact of an Adult High School Program

Emily Merola (), David Phillips () and Patrick S Turner ()
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Emily Merola: Princeton University
David Phillips: University of Notre Dame
Patrick S Turner: University of Notre Dame

No 18168, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The criminal justice system primarily arrests and incarcerates people without high school diplomas. We estimate the causal effect of a high school diploma on criminal justice system contact for a set of people who previously exited high school but then attended The Excel Center (TEC), a network of high schools for adults. Compared to those who apply but do not enroll, students who enroll but exit without a diploma do not experience a decline in criminal charges. Criminal charges for students who complete a diploma, on the other hand, decline by 49% the year following application, an effect which largely persists for at least five years. These effects are sufficiently large to increase the cost-effectiveness of the program by 2-5 times. The pattern of effects also suggests that, beyond simple incapacitation, getting an adult high school diploma itself leads to lower contact with the criminal justice system.

Keywords: human capital; returns to education; high school diploma; GED; crime (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 I26 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10
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