Staying in school has it's upsides and downsides just as much as leaving. It depends a lot on the person. Or more specifically what a person does once they leave school. If they sit around on their butts and do nothing then staying in school would have at least helped them move along. It depends on how smart a person is and what they do. You can't deny that dropping out limits future options for a person even if they are smart. But the average person is generally silly. So dropping out for them is practically a death sentence in society, and completing school just pushes them along out into society with a little more to work with, but still not what they need. Dropping out isn't the answer! Play to people's smarts instead! School only lays basic, shaky foundations but what it should focus on is basic important education and then helping people find what they want to do with their lives instead of just booting them out and saying get a job. It's no easy fix though!