57,000 South Carolinians between the ages of 18 and 24, and 450,000 adults over the age of 25 lack a high school diploma or GED.
Those who lack a diploma are far more likely to be unemployed, or have low-wage jobs, have children out of wedlock, live in poverty and on welfare, commit crimes, become incarcerated, and serve longer sentences than those with a high school.
What’s more, the cost of Medicaid, public health care, unemployment benefits, and incarceration, combined with lost tax revenue, the 507,000 South Carolinians who lack a diploma cost the state an estimated $1.62 billion each year (The Eric Report: The High Cost of South Carolina's Low Graduation Rate).
RPF’s GED Success Initiative will prepare students to pass South Carolina’s GED test at their own pace in an asynchronous program with intensive support. For students 17 and older who are not enrolled in school, we plan to offer GED prep classes soon.