If she didn't have so much riding on it, Ginger Rivera never would have even opened the door to room H-103.

There she was: a 31-year-old high school dropout getting ready to take a General Education Diploma preparatory class with what she figured would be a roomful of teenagers.

She had tried to take the GED test before, more times than she cares to remember, but never passed. This time, she would take her time, re-learn lessons long forgotten, and take the test only when she was sure she could pass it.

But first she had to summon the courage to open that door to H-103, the site of her GED prep class for math and science.

"I know I have to get my high school diploma so I can go to college," Rivera said. "I just want something better for me and my kids."

Like thousands of other Hawai'i residents who started but did not complete high school, Rivera is trying to correct a life trajectory that would otherwise see her perpetually achieving less and earning less than those with at least a high school diploma.

According to "Left Behind in America: The Nation's Dropout Crisis," a national report by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University and the Alternative Schools Network, dropouts can expect to make $400,000 less in wages over the course of their working lives than those with a high school diploma.

"The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools," a recently released comprehensive study by the Alliance for Excellent Education, found that the average annual income for a high school dropout in 2005 was $17,299, compared with $26,933 for a high school graduate.

The direct relationship between education and future wages in Hawai'i is underscored by a 2008 report by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations' Research and Statistics Office, which compared salaries for jobs that required short-term, on-the-job training, those that required moderate or long-term training or related work experience, and those that required post-secondary, vocational or higher degrees.

Jobs that required minimal training or education ranged in annual salary from $19,370 (counter attendant) to $26,180 (general office clerk).

Jobs requiring moderate or long-term on-the-job training or related work experience ranged from $27,590 (restaurant cook) to $57,350 (carpenter).

At the top of the scale, jobs requiring post-secondary, vocational or higher degree ranged from $45,420 (elementary school teacher) to $94,850 (general or operational manager)

TOUGH COMPETITION

The current economic downturn has put high school dropouts in an even more tenuous position.

As the AEE report notes, dropouts are much more likely to be unemployed during economic downturns. The report cites data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows the unemployment rate for dropouts in July 2009 was 15.4 percent, compared with 9.4 percent for high school graduates, 7.9 percent for individuals with some college credits or an associate's degree, and 4.7 percent for individuals with at least a bachelor's degree.

Competition for jobs can be especially tough in Hawai'i, which ranks fifth in the nation in percentage of college graduates in the work force, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

As the AEE report emphasizes, a high school student's decision to drop out costs not just the student, but the community at large.

According to the AEE report, high school dropouts are more likely to be teen parents; commit crimes; and rely on government health care, food stamps and housing assistance. They are less likely to raise healthier, better educated children, vote, or engage in community volunteer activities.

GRIM PROFILE

It's a grim profile, and one that Rivera said she is determined to rewrite.

Rivera was supposed to graduate from Campbell High School in 1996, but dropped out two years earlier after having her first child and, later, getting kicked out by her parents.

In the ensuing years, Rivera would find her employment options severely limited, working at or near minimum wage for Dunkin' Donuts, Wal-Mart, a gas station and other businesses that do not require a college degree. A few years ago, she worked as a certified nurse assistant in New Hampshire, but her certification did not transfer when she moved back to Hawai'i.

Today, Rivera is a stay-at-home mom to four children. The family survives on what Rivera's husband, Peter John, takes home from his job at a poultry processing plant.

Once she completes a series of prep classes, Rivera said she will take, and hopefully pass, the GED test and enroll at a community college. From there, she hopes to transfer to a four-year college to become a registered nurse. If everything falls into place, Rivera said she might even apply to medical school to fulfill her dream of becoming a pediatrician.

Rivera attends the classes with her 17-year-old nephew, Nikki Antonio, who left Radford High School a couple of years before graduation.

"I want to finish my high school equivalency," Antonio said. "I want to help myself get a good job."

Antonio said he hopes to earn a GED so he can get vocational training as an electrician.

GETTING ON TRACK

Rivera's and Antonio's plans are no more ambitious that those of many other high school dropouts seeking to get back on track. To do so, however, they'll have to overcome significant odds.

Tammi Chun, executive director of the Hawai'i P-20 Initiative, notes that many dropouts advance no further in their education than the GED.

"The GED tends to be terminal," she said.

Chun said her organization undertook an unscientific study to track the number of people with GEDs who successfully transitioned into the University of Hawai'i system. The results, she said, were very minimal.

"On each campus, it was onesies-twosies," she said.

While a GED officially serves as the equivalent to a high school diploma, Chun said dropouts who go back to get a GED may still find their educational deficiencies difficult to overcome when they face college placement exams, vocational training entrance assessments or pre-employment tests.

"It can be difficult even for high school graduates," Chun said. "For people who drop out then go back for their GED, it's a much harder road."